Kjerstin Lastufka has received recognition for winning the Crow Pass Crossing, but she's also known for picking up one of the worst rashes along the way.
Runners who participate in the mid-July trail race from Girdwood to Eagle River likely will encounter all the hazards of Alaska's backcountry: bears, river crossings and a tall, stalky plant called cow parsnip.
Lastufka was born and raised in Alaska and knows the plant, even calls it by its Russian name, "pushki" (poosh-kee). Cow parsnip has hairy stalks that can grow almost 9 feet tall. When in bloom, the stalks are topped with umbrellas of white flowers.
"It's a beautiful plant, but boy do I hate it," Lastufka said.
And with good reason. It seems that every time she's exposed to it, she breaks out in a rash.
The source of the rash is a chemical called furanocoumarin, found in the sap and outer hairs of cow parsnip. The other necessary ingredient is sunlight.
"If the sun doesn't hit it, it doesn't react," said Dr. Michael Cusack, an Anchorage dermatologist.
Someone exposed to the chemical while in sunshine could develop a rash of blisters, redness or darkened pigmentation. Cusack said he once treated two boys who'd broken off stalks of cow parsnip for a make-believe sword fight on a sunny day.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "They were broken out all over their bodies."
During the 1992 Crow Pass Crossing, Lastufka ran the course in shorts and a jogging bra. A day or so later, her legs, stomach and arms were spattered with tiny bumps.
"After I run through it, my legs kind of look like a patchwork quilt," she said. "There's lines going this way and lines going that way." And it itches terribly.
She saw a doctor, who gave her pills. Those didn't work. Creams didn't work either.
"I wore gloves to bed to keep me from itching," she said. "That didn't work."
The rash finally went away, but Lastufka decided she'd prevent a recurrence by avoiding the plant altogether.
A few weekends ago, she and her friends decided to try the trail again. It was a sunny day -- a perfect environment for cow parsnip problems -- but Lastufka was hoping for a little luck. She wore shorts again, but this time she washed off afterward to try to remove any remnants of the plant.
But a few days later she recognized a telltale sign that she wasn't lucky at all.
"I was sitting at work and all the sudden my legs started to itch," she said.
The rash was back.
Not all bad
There's more to cow parsnip than its bad reputation on the trail. Janice Schofield, author of "Discovering Wild Plants," said it makes a great substitute for celery. Once peeled, cow parsnip stalks can be eaten raw or cooked. To make a unique hors d' oeuvre, the stems can be stuffed with cream cheese or seafood filling, she said.
The plant's strong suits go beyond the kitchen. Schofield has read that drinking cow parsnip tea can help counter nausea and heartburn. She uses the plant to make liniments for aches and pains and tinctures to settle an upset stomach.
But as cow parsnip flourishes in July and August, runners and hikers will continue meeting up with it in the meadows and open woods of Southcentral. They've found it on the Matanuska Peak Trail in the Valley, along Johnson Pass and even on Mount Marathon in Seward. It grows particularly well in places along Crow Pass Trail.
"It towers above my head," Lastufka said. "You literally go through a forest of cow parsnip."
It's been so bad there that state health officials even studied the problem the year after Lastufka's run-in with cow parsnip.
The state Section of Epidemiology interviewed 99 runners -- almost 85 percent of the competitors -- who raced in the 1993 Crow Pass Crossing. In that sample, 65 racers developed a rash, and most still had it 10 days after onset. Dozens of racers with rashes had been exposed to cow parsnip before without reacting to it.
Lastufka ran through cow parsnip for years before getting a rash. Tracy Houser, a Palmer runner, said her problems with the plant started three years ago.
She'd been racing on the Crow Pass Trail wearing shorts. She developed a leg rash with blisters, some of which were several inches long and filled with fluid. Nothing seemed to make the blisters go away.
She'd have to try something new the next time on the trail.
What works -- and doesn't
When Houser entered the Crow Pass Crossing again, she decided she'd try wearing sunscreen.
The study by the Section of Epidemiology said racers who used sunscreen were less likely to have a rash than those who didn't.
But Houser said it didn't work and wondered if the sunscreen might have come off while she raced. Lastufka tried sunscreen and a product called Dermashield, but neither worked well.
Dermatologists say the best thing to do is steer clear of cow parsnip.
"Avoid it at all costs," said Dr. Tom Senter. Avoid exposure to sunlight too, Cusack said.
Houser searched the Internet for other solutions and found a reference to Palmolive dish detergent. She and other runners have tried washing off with it after running through cow parsnip.
When Shannon Donley joined Lastufka on the run through Crow Pass a few weeks ago, both tried the detergent trick. Donley said she never got the rash, but Lastufka did. So does the detergent work?
"It's hard to say," Houser said.
"It could just be an Internet myth, but we're trying it."
Sports medicine specialist Dr. Jay Caldwell said he doesn't know if there's anything special about dish detergent, but washing off in general is a good idea.
"The more quickly you can get rid of the irritant, the fewer problems there will be," he said. Cusack recommends using soap and water or just water if soap isn't available.
The Section of Epidemiology recommends covering the skin with clothing to prevent a rash. But Lastufka said wearing too much clothing could cause a runner to overheat.
Last year, Houser wore long pants and a long-sleeve shirt on Crow Pass trail. That wasn't a complete success, either.
"I still got it," Houser said. "I got it on my hands and face."
When she pushed her long sleeves up during the race, she got blisters on her forearms, too.
People with a mild rash can wait it out, as the blisters will soon go away. But those with an extensive rash should see a doctor.
Caldwell, Cusack and Senter prescribe cortisone, an anti-inflammatory that reduces swelling and itching. For small areas, a cortisone cream might work, Caldwell said. Cortisone pills might be needed for bigger problems, dermatologists said.
Lastufka has found something that provides relief. She buys the well-known hemorrhoid treatment Preparation H and rubs it over the bumps.
Senter said he wouldn't recommend Preparation H; it's the wrong medicine for the rash. Lastufka said she's chosen it because it makes the swelling go down and the itch go away.
"At this point," Lastufka said, "I figure whatever works."
