The 20th annual Prince of Wales Island Marathon will be happening on May 25, 2019. This month Gretchen Klein was able to interview Julie Decker from Wrangell, Alaska.
Julie Decker, Dale McMurran, Andrea Laughlin, Becky MacIntyre, Lucy Moline-Robinson, and George Benson are a few of the regulars from Wrangell who raced several times in the Marathon. Because Prince of Wales Island is so remote, participants often come up with unique ways to reach the Island. Decker and her friends have chartered Sunrise Air over to Klawock, chartered a boat to Coffman Cove and then driven down to Craig, or ferried in from Ketchikan to Hollis on the Inter-Island Ferry.
Julie has been coming for the Prince of Wales Marathon for over 5 years. One of the reasons she likes it is the “people are warm, friendly, and welcoming” and the road system is similar to Wrangell.
Fun Fact, Prince of Wales has 1,500 miles of road and the island itself is the 97th largest in the world. While only 200 miles of highway is paved the rest can be reached by ATV with hundreds of miles of back roads that have been built by logging companies throughout the decades.
Julie Decker's motto, after being a seasoned half marathon pro, is “stick one foot in front of the other and you will make it to the finish.” When her friend Lucy Moline-Robinson started the “Southeast Beasts” (a Wrangell running group) about eight years ago, she got hooked and trained to complete the POW Half Marathon and Julie also ran the famous San Francisco Half Marathon!
One of the more well-known fun runs in Southeast, Alaska is Wrangell's “Bear Festival Marathon” which happens in July and was founded nine years ago. You may find more information on that [here.]
When Julie isn't running and helping with events at home, she works in the seafood industry and has a commercial fishing boat with her husband and kids. Training for the POW race in the spring is convenient for Julie as she has time to train while gearing up for the fishing season that keeps her busy throughout the rest of the year.
Advice from Julie
Food Selection– Of course, eating generally healthy all the time is helpful. The day before the race have LOTS OF WATER. The evening before the race, anything with pasta and MORE WATER. On race day, I usually get up about three hours prior to the start of the run, drink 16 oz of water, eat a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and nuts, and a cup of strong coffee. A little light warm-up exercises also help trigger a bowel movement prior to the race starting. About 15 minutes before the race, I take also take one Imodium (anti-diarrhea medicine) which helps reduce bathroom breaks!
I have never listened to an audio book when running, but I have listened to some of my favorite podcasts.
Favorite shoe stores are sports stores where you can try lots of shoes on or www.RoadRunnerSports.com because you can return the shoes if they don’t fit right.
Join us on Prince of Wales this year. POW is part of the Alexander Archipelago in the southernmost portion of the Alaska panhandle.
Sign up for the Prince of Wales Marathon here
Accommodations and Transportation may be found at [here]
Read More: POW Marathon a Destination Race! Interview with Houston Laws
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