Jan Spurkland sensed the footsteps behind him during much of the race. But by the time he crossed the finish line, there was nobody even close.

Spurkland won the seventh annual Sunrise to Summit hill climb Saturday at Mount Bachelor, finishing in 35 minutes and 1 second, more than a full minute ahead of runner-up Mitch Thompson, who reached the top in 36 minutes, 14 seconds.

”There were four or five guys breathing down my neck the whole time,” said Spurkland, who also won the event in 2002. ”It was tough. It was bunched up pretty tight until the last five minutes or so.”

The event – a fund-raiser for the Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation – took 167 runners and/or hikers nearly three miles to the top of 9,065-foot Mount Bachelor.

Competitors started from the Sunrise Lodge, choosing their own course to the bottom of the Summit chair, and from there following a designated Forest Service trail to the top.

They gained 2,600 feet in elevation during the climb.

Adam Long of Bend finished third in 36:18, passing Marshall Greene with about 10 meters remaining. Greene was fourth (36:22).

As Spurkland, 26, approached the finish line, he was alternating between jogging and power walking.

”There’s a fine line between going overboard and hanging right there,” said Spurkland, an avid cross-country skier who lives in Bend. ”This is great cross-training for ski season. It ends up being a skier’s race because you’ve got to have strong legs.”

Meanwhile, Thompson, an elite mountain bike racer from Bend, figured he could let the Nordic skiers fly off from the start, then catch them toward the end. The plan worked – except for Spurkland.

”They start fast from all the cross-country skiing,” said the 34-year-old Thompson, ”but I passed about four people during the last quarter of the race. It’s all about pain, basically. It’s so short that if you back off at all, you lose a lot of time.”

Kory Bright of Bend was the top female, finishing in 40:30, ahead of friend and second-place finisher Cherie Touchette (43:17), also from Bend.

Touchette said she had urged Bright to compete in the race, and Bright decided on Friday night that she would.

”When somebody talks you into doing a race, you don’t go and beat them!” Touchette playfully yelled at Bright, as they stood near the sun-drenched mountain summit after finishing the race.

Bright, competing in her first Sunrise to Summit, said she came into the race with no designs on winning.

”I just thought it would be fun to do it,” Bright said. ”I’ve hiked up (to the summit), but I’ve never ran.”

Bright, 34, said she runs about four days per week, while Touchette, 41, is a professional off-road triathlete, who may compete at the Xterra World Championship off-road triathlon in Hawaii in October.

Touchette also teaches spin classes at The Athletic Club of Bend. Bright is one of her students.

”I kick her butt into shape,” Touchette said.

”The spinning really helps,” added Bright.

Touchette, who injured her hamstring a little more than a year ago, started running again just three weeks ago. She said she will go to Hawaii if her hamstring holds up, adding that the Sunrise to Summit is a perfect way to train for the off-road triathlons.

”This is great training,” she said. ”I just kept saying go harder, and make yourself stronger for the Xterras.”

Julie Downing of Bend finished third among the women (43:38), and Inge Scheve, also of Bend, was fourth (43:57).