Trevor Dunbar Wows Crowd, Honors Fallen Teammate at Final Track Meet in Kodiak, Alaska
Trevor Dunbar wow'ed the crowd and honored his fallen friend at the Kodiak Tri-Invite last weekend.
Trevor Dunbar, Alaska’s finest prep athlete not on skis or hunting harmless animals at the moment, ran a scintillating 3,200m in front of a raucous crowd of Eskimos, snowmen, moose and members of the Palin family at the Kodiak Tri-Invite Friday. Dunbar’s time, 8:51.5 seconds, is the fastest time run by an Alaskan since 1997, when Lance Mackey ran the last two miles of the Iditarod in the harness of his sled dogs.
TwoAngryRunners.com caught up with Dunbar while the young athlete was taking a break from stalking elk across the desolate Arctic tundra. “It was a very special day for a lot of reasons. For one, it was my final home race of my career so everyone came out in support. Secondly, we were able to have Todd Palin rabbit the first mile on his snowmobile. Despite the heavy exhaust fumes and plumes of pristine snow hitting me in the face, I came through the first mile feeling very comfortable. Todd was supposed to bring me through six laps, but unfortunately wiped out on the backstretch trying to match one of my surges.”
Marcus Dunbar, Trevor’s father and coach, said his son’s record-setting run will go down as perhaps the finest sporting moment since Alutiiq Native Wackamanee Joe killed a live Kodiak bear with his bare hands in the town center in 1964. “People will be talking about this day for a long time.” After a long pause, Dunbar added, “That’s mostly because there is little else to talk about beyond the soul-crushing Alaskan winter and horrible scourge of meth addiction riddling our native population.”
Dunbar’s epic run was almost a no-go as groundskeepers at the Kodiak Tri-Invite had to chisel through 19 inches of ice just to clear lane one. With the rest of the track under a veritable skating rink, Dunbar was forced to “skate” around slower runners when passing them. Asked to explain how he adjusts his racing strategy when competing in Alaska, Dunbar responded, “When I race in the lower 48, I usually wear spikes, but up here it’s just easier to use a pair of CCM Tacks and hope for the best. I kicked them off with 600 to go. You heard the crowd roar right? [Reporter shakes head no.] It’s because they knew I meant business.”
Dunbar's teammate, Dyno Mongoose Trek in an undated photo.
The race was the shining moment of a bittersweet spring for Dunbar whose best friend and training partner Dyno Mongoose Trek passed away tragically last month. News reports from the event are contradictory, but it appears that Dunbar and Trek encountered two wolf-hunting helicopters while out for their usual Sunday long run in late February. Since childhood Trek had struggled with a thyroid disorder which made him unnaturally hairy for a 17-year-old and it appears the armed to the teeth airborne hunters confused him for a very tall, biped Alaskan gray wolf. Thirsty for wolf blood, the gunners rained fire on the unsuspecting pair who panicked and jetted toward the woods for shelter. Dunbar, the much faster and more agile of the two successfully ducked between two massive Evergreens. Trek was not as fortunate, going down in a hail of gunfire on the road’s edge. At 17, Trek was the youngest of nine Alaskans to die so far this year from wolf-hunting helicopters.
In light of the grisly episode, Dunbar is lobbying the Alaskan Sports Federation to display a commemorative plaque in the Alaskan Athletics Hall of Fame alongside such native Alaskan greats as NBA star Carlos Boozer, gold medalist Tommy Moe, and Iditarod champion Dee Dee Jonrowe. “It’s the least I could do for my buddy Dyno,” Dunbar said.” It’ll be just like a Cooperstown plaque, except covered in fur.”