Men’s: Is Norris Untouchable, Even With a Crazy Fast Field?
By MATIAS SAARI
Mount Marathon Race Director
With five wins in five tries, two questions must be asked: Is David Norris untouchable at Mount Marathon? And although he’s already running quicker than anyone imagined, can he go even faster?
Spurred by an unfathomable sub-30 minute ascent from Seward’s 3rd Avenue to the top of Mount Marathon, Norris last year shattered his own record from 2016 by 49 seconds, finishing in 40 minutes, 37 seconds.
For context, the record Bill Spencer set in 1981 of 43:21 lasted 32 years, and now Norris has gone nearly three minutes faster.
And while Norris says he isn’t eager to “risk life and limb” to improve his record, he’s been working on his road speed this season and believes that may help him inch closer to the sub-40-minute mark at Mount Marathon. In May, his improved speed paid dividends at the U.S. Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire — at a much less technical race than Mount Marathon — where he won and qualified to represent the USA at the World Trail Running Championships in Spain this September.
“(At Mount Marathon) if I could still descend in that 10-minute-and-change range and then improve the pavement section and maybe a few seconds on the uphill, that would kind of make the difference,” Norris said. “So we’ll see.”
If the sizable snowfield off the top remains on race day that could aid Norris, as glissading is generally faster than running and gives the legs a short break.
Despite facing perhaps the strongest field in men’s race history — the top 18 from 2024 are slated to return along with some talented newcomers — Norris is in a class of his own. In 2024, Norris won by 2:15 over 44-year-old Max King of Bend, Ore., whose 42:52 was exceptionally fast in its own right.
Canadian Jessie McAuley and brothers Ali Papillon and Bodhi Gross — former Alaskans — also broke the 45-minute benchmark, a time that until 2010 virtually guaranteed victory.
Norris grew up in Fairbanks, lived in Anchorage as an elite Nordic ski racer and now resides in Steamboat Springs, Colo. What keeps bringing him back to Mount Marathon?
“Outside of the race, it’s the excuse to come see friends and family,” Norris said on June 5 while at the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where he accepted the men’s Pride of Alaska award. “(For the race) nothing else compares to it with how raw it is, the fans that are all there. The day itself is so exciting. It’s so steep, so gnarly. It’s so fun.”
McAuley, the Canadian from Squamish, British Columbia, also recognizes Mount Marathon as something special. He improved to third last year in 44:02 after taking sixth in his 2019 debut.
“Mount Marathon is without question the most technical trail running race in North America,” said McAuley, who represents Arc’teryx, which signed on a new Mount Marathon sponsor in 2025. “I have always excelled at steep, rugged, and fast ascents and descents. MMR is all of that packed into a short effort.”
The 97 years of history is also not lost on McAuley. “I strongly value the sense of community and deep history of the event,” he said. “There’s nothing quite like it on our side of the globe.”
The men’s and women’s race starts alternate annually and this year the men’s will go on the afternoon, which generally feature larger crowds. The men’s first wave starts at 2:05 p.m. on July 4 in downtown Seward, followed by Wave 2 at 2:08 p.m. and Wave 3 at 2:11 p.m.
The question remains: can anyone beat, or even closely challenge, Norris?
“I think if (Norris) has a smooth race it is unlikely for someone to go faster. Especially with his knowledge of racing MMR,” McAuley said. “However, it’s racing. You never know.”
(Update) Olympic skier Luke Jager is a late entrant after earning a bib by winning the Bird Ridge Hill Climb on June 15.
The roster also includes Jeret Gillingham of Bellingham, Wash., who took sixth as a rookie in 2024. Four others — Nevada resident Darren Thomas and Alaskans Michael Earnhart, Lars Arneson and Lyon Kopsack — all have top-five finishes on their resumes but slipped to 7th to 10th place in 2024.
(Update June 29: Darren Thomas will not race due to injury)
Arneson, a five-time Alaska Mountain Runners Grand Prix series champion, is juggling parental duties for his newborn son.
“It’s been a blast taking Wout up some local peaks, but we’ve been sticking closer to home and I haven’t been in the mountains nearly as much as I normally am this time of year,” said Arneson, adding that he hopes more biking this spring may translate into mountain speed.
There are also several past Top 10 performers returning to the race after missing 2024. Bayton Menton of Oregon, Zack Bursell of Juneau, Ben Marvin of Palmer and Taylor Turney of Anchorage — who blitzed a record 9:54 downhill in 2023 — fall into that category.
Then there are highly touted rookies including William McGovern (winner of the 2025 Turnagain Arm Trail Race), and former professional skier Braden Becker of Yarmouth, Maine.
And don’t forget Coby Marvin, the three-time junior boys champion who is aging up to the men’s race. Marvin owns the second-fastest junior time in history and is no stranger to longer mountain efforts.
The host town of Seward has 150 racers combined in the junior, women’s and men’s events. The top dog in Seward could again come down to a battle between James Carlberg, Pyper Dixon and Erik Johnson, who finished within seconds of one another last year in 16th, 17th and 18th places, respectively. (Word is that Carlberg is in particularly good shape this year).
On the longevity front, Braun Kopsack is going for his 47th finish, Everett Billingslea his 43rd, Steven “Crazy Billy” Carroll his 43rd and Lance Kopsack his 41st.
Fred Moore of Seward, 85, tops them all with 54 consecutive finishes, although he said recently that he’s unsure whether he’ll run this year.
Not to be outdone, 89-year-old Chad Resari of Anchorage is again entered as a Golden Racer, which awards a finish for covering half the mountain. Last year Resari finished in 1:49:11 and high-fived fans on the homestretch.
Only 71 entrants exceed the age of 60 but Mark Tatum of Colorado is among the most acclaimed; perhaps he’ll challenge Barney Griffith’s 60-69 age group mark of 53:34. While Mount Marathon is the oldest mountain race in North America, the Dipsea in California is the oldest trail race, and Tatum has the rare distinction of winning the age- and gender-handicapped race as a non-Californian.
Of the 1,064 runners still entered on June 7, 900 hailed from Alaska (84.6 percent). The rest came from three other countries — Canada, Germany and France — and 31 other states.