This was my first time visiting the amazing state of Alaska, and wow what an experience. Do not be the person who flies in checks off this state and leaves, the opportunity to get out and explore this state before or after the race should not be wasted. Waiting in line for the bathrooms I was chatting with a guy running the marathon in his 48th state, he flies in does his job and leaves. He treated it like a job and even described it as something he just wanted to get over with. I can’t imagine flying all the way to such an amazing state and leaving before I saw a thing. My wife and I flew in 10 days before the race and visited 3 National Parks and Drove all over the state doing hiking and sightseeing. I didn’t run at all in the 10 days leading up to the race (no chance to do laundry and who wants to stuff sweaty running clothes in their bag repeatedly for a week plus). Zero running and tons of strenuous hiking is hardly the ideal way to prepare for a race but traveling the country doing races can’t only be about the races, the travel experience should mean just as much. My advice if you can is to fly in, run the race then go see the state. I’m married to a teacher though so we had to hurry back for the start of the school year. On to the review…

EXPO/PACKET PICK UP:
I did not go to the expo for this race, I was too busy exploring the rest of the state. That said, I have never in all the races that I have run seen a race that provided more opportunities for your shirt/bib pickup than this race. The race was on Sunday and you could pick up your packet on Thursday, Friday or Saturday during windows of 4-7 hours. I was out traveling the state during this time and couldn’t make it so I emailed the race team and they said they were happy to accommodate me on the morning of the race for my bib and shirt pickup (Insider Info, they are actually willing to do this for everybody the lady who gave me my bib told me, but it would not be practical to do so for several thousand people, but it is good to know in case your schedule requires it). They also give the option to have a friend pick up your packet for you.

Parking/Access: Anchorage is a very unique layout for a city with a pretty large population. Downtown doesn’t have many tall buildings and both street and parking lot parking were easily available just 2-3 blocks away. No real need to do public transit.

T-Shirts/SWAG: The medal for this race was one that I liked. It isn’t the prettiest one on my medal rack but it does accomplish what I find most important about a race, it was sturdily made and depicts something unique about the state. It seems like most years in the past had a similar medal which included a picture of Alaska, this year had a jumping salmon (See Attached Picture). The shirt this year was a nice blue tech shirt (See Attached Picture), it has a giant bear head as part of a painting looking over a lake/mountain, again just look at the picture. Each shirt also states the distance you ran instead of just an event logo that lists every distance which is a bit unique. Is it large, quirky, over the top and not exactly a wear everyday shirt? Yes, is it truly unique and in line with the spirit/essence of the state it represents? Also Yes. And in case you think it is still weird, do a quick google search of some past years, I would say this years shirt is pretty tame by comparison.

Aid Stations: The aid stations were well stocked and spaced every 1.5-2 miles (it is an out and back course on a park trail so you hit the same stations in each direction), they all had Gatorade and water. Nobody was handing out any energy gels or chews but I carry my own so this was a non issue. I didn’t hear anything about things running out at any time during the race. I was near the front so I was never really in a group, and most stations only had 3-5 people which is sufficient but may have caused an issue or two when the big pace groups came through but the race said ahead of time that volunteers were really tough to come by this year due to covid so I give the volunteers who were there an A+ for doing the job, being really clear about who had water or Gatorade, and being happy cheerleaders for each runner who came through.

Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: The course is pretty flat over 90% of the course, as a true out and back every hill you go up you will come down and vice versa. You mostly follow a river on a greenbelt path through a park with a decent hill right at the turnaround point and another between .5-.2 miles from the finish, it won’t seem like much of a hill at the start, but a 50ft climb over a quarter mile will feel like a mountain so close to the finish. Overall though minor difficulty with little bumps or bridges over streams along the way. As for the scenery you get some views of the ocean and surrounding mountains during the first 1.5 and last 1.5 miles before running through a park along a path the rest of the time. It is pretty, it is calm, it is green, tree covered and shaded but not exactly breathtaking (but you will get that everywhere else in the state during you travels so no big deal). You might see “scenery” of a different kind though, while I didn’t see them runners posted pictures of a black bear on the half marathon course around mile 4 and a mother moose with her calf on the 49k course so keep aware of your surroundings.

Weather: Since 2008 the race day weather has been between 53 and 63 degrees every year except one, when it was like 67. Top notch running weather, it is usually always dry and it was this year too. It did rain in the afternoon so If you were a really slow Marathoner or Ultra runner you maybe got a little wet but it doesn’t downpour in this state.

Race Management: This Race was very well run overall. I found their emails and Facebook Page to be the best source of information. Oddly the Skinnyraven page (the sponsor) had information that was outdated in terms of maps and time. Make sure you use the Anchorage Runfest site for everything and make sure your read their emails. They accomodated me needing to pick up my packet the day of and had a very fun announcer at the start talking to people and having fun. The half was the biggest race but only had 631 people (a down a bit from a normal year). They had all the pace setters get in the corral first (Half 10 minute Incriments 1:40-3:00) (Full 15 minute incriments 3:30-5:30). After the pace people were in place they had people enter the start area and everybody went to their correct area. I ended up running a 1:31 and I had tons of room up front with the other fast people and the elites. I have never been at a race where I didn’t feel crowded at the start. I think this has a lot to do with how many people travel for this race. Supposedly over half of all entrants each year are from out of state which means they know race etiquette. They line up correctly, they communicate when passing, and they know how to use aid stations. The most educated crowd I have run with. They also have a ton of events and options they include a “Military Mile” on Saturday, a 5k, Half Marathon, Marathon, Marathon Relay and 49k Ultra (a 49k you say, that is weird, why not 50k like normal, well Alaska is the 49th State). Tons of options for everybody. They even had a half marathon walking or just need extra time option. Races went off in 15 minute increments. Walkers @ 8:00am, Marathon & Ultra @ 8:30am, Half Marathon 8:45am, 5k 9:00am. We were all on the course at the same time and I was definitely running upstream on the way back to the finish but people kept to the side without me needing to say anything and the 5k runners were all done before I got back to the finish although the winners may have seen a tiny bit of traffic. Other things that were unique and very nice: shirt swap the morning of the race if the one you picked up at the EXPO didn’t fit, free showers at the Gym near the finish if you show your bib, especially nice if you are flying out the same day and already had to check out of your hotel before hand. Also free race Photos.

Overall I would say this race is a great way to check Alaska off your 50 state list. It is a well run race that feels similar in a lot of ways to races you would see in other states, it just happens to be run in a state that is unlike any other.