Barrow's Whalers toughened by cross country

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

It's 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the winds are barely noticeable on a balmy afternoon in Barrow, Alaska. It's August 27 and thankfully there is no snow on the ground.

Barrow High School's cross country team is hosting the Whaler Invitational in one of the most extreme locations in the U.S. It is the only meet the Class 3A Alaskan school of about 240 students will host this season.

It's "beautiful weather" according to coach Chad Bunselmeier. 

"Part of the course runs right along the waters of Chukchi Sea," the coach said. "Last year, part of our course was washed away by the waves and we had to completely reroute the course the day before the meet." 

There's a police car that leads the start of the single 5,000-meter race for the 65 participants. The boys and girls start together.  

More police are scattered along the course with spotters to help guide the runners as well as keep a watchful eye for the polar bears that frequent the beach near town. 

Yes, polar bears. In August. 

Welcome to a normal day in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States and place that you can only get to by airplane. The town is located at the tip top of Alaska and on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. 

"Teams like coming to Barrow," Bunselmeier explained. "Barrow is a very unique location and there is nowhere like it in Alaska. It might not be the most pleasant place to run, but it is a really cool place for teams to come visit and see the sights."

Located roughly three hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, Barrow doesn't have the makeup of a typical city. 

The population is just under 4,500 people. And in September, the sun is out from 7 a.m. until 9:45 at night, which is right in the middle of the two extremes. The sun will slowly disappear over the coming weeks and on Nov. 18 it will set for good until January. 

"When we started practice on July 29, the sun was never setting," Bunselmeier said. 

Barrow High really doesn't have trails to run on. Gravel roads are the main paths. 

The team runs five days a week and practice starts when school lets out at 3:40 p.m. 

Every day is different for the Whalers though. They have long runs, hill days, speed days and recovery days. 

"We do a lot of runs in the gravel pits. This is really the only place where there are hills and where we can get away from traffic," Bunselmeier said.

Bunselmeier has been coaching with his wife, Melissa, a former cross country and track athlete at Augustana University in South Dakota, for the past two years. They coach for the love of the sport and the kids. 

Melissa has been integral to the development of seniors Alaina Wolgemuth and Melissa Nicely, both of whom are on the cusp of breaking 20 minutes. 

While football is the main attraction in Barrow (the school started a football program in 2006 and it has been featured by both Sports Illustrated and the NFL Network), Bunselmeier said the cross country program has been welcomed and embraced. The community helps fund trips. 

"Most (fans) sit in cars and honk their horn or drive around the course and cheer the runners on," Bunselmeier said. "This year the weather was so nice that we had a really good turnount."

In years past, Barrow has held the district meet in late September when there's snow on the ground and the mercury hovers at about 20 degrees. This year the Whaler Invitational was the sole home meet of the season. The rest of the schedule is comprised of meets in the state of Alaska that the teams must fly to. On Saturday, the Whalers will travel to the Delta Invitational in Delta Junction. (That's 500 miles by air, another 100 by bus).

"Alaska Airlines flies in and out of Barrow so there are direct flights to Anchorage and Fairbanks," Bunselmeier said. "From Fairbanks or Anchorage we may drive an hour or two to participate in a meet."

The weather right now in Barrow has been in the mid-30s. Bunselmeier said it is typical to start seeing snow by early August. It usually doesn't start accumulating until mid-September. 

"Snow for us usually means wind and cold," he said. "We get used to it and we are happy when it is actual snow and not freezing rain or sleet. When we travel (to meets) the weather is never as bad as what we have run in at some point in Barrow."

It's a crazy amount of dedication for one sport, but for the Whalers, it just a way of life in Barrow.

"We run almost every day, outside, no matter what the weather. We have had days of blowing sleet and rain. Those are the worst, but this makes the kids tough," Bunselmeier said. "The kids are all really great kids. They are fun to be around and will work hard for you."