<\/a>Breea Mearig, left, a friend and running teammate of Ben Blackgoat when they were in high school, talks Saturday about the teenager before the start of a trail race held in memory of his death that occurred during an accident on the trail. With Mearig are her daughter, Sianna, and father Paul Desloover, the organizer of the race since it was first held in 1997. (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
The race debuted in 1997, the year after Blackgoat, 17, a local high school cross country runner, fell to his death after slipping on a patch of ice along a dangerous part of the trail. Breea Mearig, a friend and teammate of Blackgoat when they were in high school, told racers just before the start of Saturday’s run he “was both a very ordinary teenager and a very extraordinary teenager.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“He was extraordinary in the way he kind of existed outside of social hierarchy,” she said. “He was able to make everybody feel welcome. You could always feel like you were Ben’s friend, and that’s why he influenced so many people in the short time that he lived in Juneau and in his short life. He also knew that running was more than just running as fast as you can, that running builds community and causes you to push your boundaries, and helps you to learn so much about yourself and other people.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The weather for the race was mild and partly cloudy, with some participants reading a display board featuring news stories about Blackgoat near the starting point. The runners competed in two-, four- and seven-mile categories (and were able to decide how far to run while the race was in progress).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t