With the world championships fast approaching, Klaire Rhodes initially treated the 28K race at The Rut as a long run.
But for an athlete of Rhodes’ caliber, she came away with the win in Big Sky, Mont., crossing the finish line in 3 hours, 53 minutes and 6 seconds. The 27-year-old from Anchorage conquered the mountainous 17.6-mile route, which featured 7,800 feet of elevation gain.
Rhodes, who set the 50K course record last fall, dropped down to the 28K this time around. She came through the first checkpoint at Headwaters in second place, trailing only Montana’s Maya Rayle by 42 seconds, before taking the lead for good by the second checkpoint…