Eagle River's Brandon Blackley leads Mackey Franks, Chris Dahl and Peter Hauessler during the early laps of the 1000-meter race of the Alaska Speedskating Club's short track races held Saturday at the Harry J. McDonald Memorial Ice Arena. Blackley had the day's best times in both the 1,000 and 1,500 meter race, and finished second overall in the 500. PHOTO by DAVID MORSE

The Alaska Speedskating Club held its second short-course races of the season Saturday at the Harry J. McDonald Memorial Ice Arena, and the turnout was large, according to club president Amy Fitzpatrick. She said 25 skaters participated in races.

"Speed skating is an obscure sport. People think 'lycra' and 'fast' and are intimidated by that," said Fitzpatrick. "But anyone can speed skate. We have skaters from ages 4 to 65, and we also have Special Olympic athletes out there on the ice."

Fitzpatrick said the club also had nearly as many volunteers gathered for Saturday's races - including lap counters, those working stopwatches, recording results and watching the morning races.

"Speed skating is all about technique. There is also strategy involved, you need to be quick and smart too," she added.

In watching nearly a dozen races, luck would also seem to play a part, with the occasional fall favoring those who don't become entwined in the tangle of arms and legs.

"It's a great lifetime sport. It's an individual sport and mainly you try to improve your time," Fitzpatrick continued.

Races are staged according to ability rather than age, meaning that older athletes sometimes find themselves being schooled by youngsters in the art of going fast through multiple laps.

Chris Dahl posted the day's best times, finishing the near 5-lap, 500-meter race in 48.56 seconds. Eagle River High School sophomore Brandon Blackley was a close second in 50.63 seconds.

Kara Haeussler had the quickest time among the ladies, crossing the line in 58.51 in the 500.

Maddie Corbett edged out Katie Greener for the best time in the seven-lap, 777-meter race, by .36 seconds, finishing in 1 minute, 41.81 seconds for the day's closest finish.

Fitzpatrick said interest in the sport is heightened this year with the upcoming Arctic Winter Games.

"The Arctic Winter Games is probably the most important event for our skaters. Since there are no other clubs to compete with in Alaska, we look forward to the AWG event every two years," she said.

The approaching games will be held in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, March 6-13, 2010.

In addition, Fitzpatrick said that club members often drive to Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, for some high-level coaching.

"We have skaters travel the 15-hour drive three times a year for some coaching. They usually bring in an Olympic Canadian coach for the camps, which is very beneficial for our skaters," she said.

Some skaters are traveling to Whitehorse for a camp this weekend.

Club members also are looking forward to getting back outdoors and skating on the new 400-meter Speed-skating oval that is part of the Cuddy Midtown Park behind the Loussac Library.

"The oval is excellent cross-training for the short-track races that we skate at the (McDonald) Center," she said.

For information about the club, go to the club's Web site at www.alaskaspeedskating.com.

Reach the reporter at editor@alaskastar.com.