Trevor Dunbar first Alaskan to run sub 4, goes 3:59.06 last night.

old miler wrote:

I am pretty sure Trevor's dad (Marcus?)broke 4 minutes indoors in Moscow Idaho in the late 90s.

Wrong!! Never happened. Unless he was from a foreign country.

Warm of Kodiak? Not sure you have been there. Kodiak is one of the least desirable places to train. It is very wet cold and windy. The temps touch the 30's on average 7 months per year and there are 191 days of precipitation per year. Nothing like more than half the year in the 30s and raining/snowing to make for some good running. Not to mention no indoor track on the island. Fairbanks in the interior is much colder, but in my opinion easier running on all but the coldest spells. The snow machine trails are frozen hard and firm and you can run forever. No rain, no wind, no 30s. Then of course, Fairbanks is not a great place to be a miler either. The Dunbars are great runners and it is not because they come from such a desirable running location.

Lenny Z wrote:

Warm of Kodiak? Not sure you have been there. Kodiak is one of the least desirable places to train. It is very wet cold and windy. The temps touch the 30's on average 7 months per year and there are 191 days of precipitation per year. Nothing like more than half the year in the 30s and raining/snowing to make for some good running. Not to mention no indoor track on the island. Fairbanks in the interior is much colder, but in my opinion easier running on all but the coldest spells. The snow machine trails are frozen hard and firm and you can run forever. No rain, no wind, no 30s. Then of course, Fairbanks is not a great place to be a miler either. The Dunbars are great runners and it is not because they come from such a desirable running location.

Not sure if you've been to Fairbanks either.

Fairbanks is conducive to running for about 6 months a year, from late April to late October. During the other half of the year the temps do not touch 30s. Only very rarely when the Chinooks arrive for a day or two. Other than that it's usually -20 to about 10 F (interspersed with long cold snaps when it's -30 to -50), with several inches to feet of snow/ice that does not leave after the first snowfall. It's always there, as is the cold. Runners can't do quality training at 0 or colder with the snow/ice cover. Slog 10 miles, or do a snowshoe run, but no speedwork unless on a treadmill.

Fairbanks probably will never develop a top miler, the season is too short and the area lacks adequate indoor facilities.

The maritime climate in Kodiak is no cakewalk but on a year-round basis it's certainly more conducive to middle distance running than Fairbanks, or even Anchorage.

That is awesome :-) !