Check out the improved Mount Marathon Race website — it’s re-organized to be more user-friendly!

The primary change: implementation of drop-down menus in the Entry, Race Info, Results and News & History sections. Let us know how you like it and if there are other areas of the website you’d like to see improved.

The Mount Marathon Race Committee and race director have also made several changes for the 2025 race:

• Increased entry fees — Race registration fees have been raised $15 across the board, bringing the cost to $100 for adults and $50 for juniors (plus the RunSignup registration charge). The increase is necessary to help offset the rising expense of organizing the complex event.
  The Mount Marathon Race fees still compare favorably with other major events in Alaska and elsewhere:
  – Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon – $119; Cirque Series Alyeska — $129; Lost Lake Run (Seward) — $120; Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb (Bird Ridge) — $40; Veins of Gold Mountain Run (Palmer) — $85; Pike’s Peak Marathon (Colorado) — $200-250; Dipsea Race (California) — $115; The Rut Mountain Runs (Montana) – $70-175 depending on distance.
• Lottery Weights Eliminated — The switch to the new registration platform RunSignup (see news story HERE) can support our lottery, but cannot accommodate one using lottery weights (where runners received an extra “ticket” for every consecutive year of losing the lottery). Therefore, beginning in 2025, everyone entered in the Mount Marathon Lottery will have the same odds and no lottery weights will be used.
  We recognize this change will disappoint some lottery hopefuls. The move is also part of a larger effort to simplify some elements of the race organization, as MMR’s complicated entry structure and many rules has created an extraordinary amount of administrative work and significant programming expense.
  While the elimination of lottery weights removes an advantage that loyal lottery entrants received, the implementation of the Top 50 Percent Age Group rule in 2021 has succeeded in its purpose of creating many additional lottery spots and thus improving lottery odds. Before the rule, lottery odds had dropped to about 3 percent for men and 20 percent for women. Lottery odds the last three years have averaged 42.2 percent for women and 22.7 percent for men. There is certainly hope that those who consistently enter the lottery will get their chance to experience the Mount Marathon Race.
• Golden Racer Adjustments — To better accommodate Golden Racers, the requirements of having 10 years of experience has been eliminated, making any racer age 70 and above eligible. Also, the Golden Racer cutoff time for the halfway checkpoint (at Junior Race Point) has been increased to 75 minutes (from 60 minutes).

The Mount Marathon Race has enlisted the popular registration platform, RunSignup, beginning with the 2025 event.

Priority Registration and Lottery Applications will now both he handled via RunSignup at the following link:

https://runsignup.com/Race/AK/Seward/MountMarathon

The registration period remains March 1-31.
Those with Priority Registration will receive an email on the morning of March 1 with registration instructions.

All others must enter the lottery, which will have a two-step registration process:

Step 1 — Join the Mount Marathon Lottery Group and pay the usual lottery entry fee of $20 for adults or $15 for juniors. This does not yet officially enter you in the lottery.

Step 2 — Register for the lottery by preauthorizing payment of the balance of your full race registration fee; your credit card will only be charged IF you win the lottery. IMPORTANT: You will not be entered in the lottery unless you complete Step 2.

As part of the change, PayPal is no longer the payment platform.

Not sure if you finished if you finished 2024 in the Top 50 perfect of your age group and are therefore potentially eligible for priority registration in 2025?
View the age group results below. (Note that those who raced on a one-year bib —Petition, Earned Entry, Sponsor or Committee’s Choice — are NOT eligible for priority registration).

WOMEN — https://mountmarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-MMR_Womens-Age-Group.pdf

MEN — https://mountmarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-MMR_Mens-Age-Group.pdf

Not sure if you have priority 10-year status? Look up your race record here:
https://mountmarathon.com/results/search-race-results/

 

The Mount Marathon Race Guide is a long-standing tradition.

It includes race previews, race rosters, feature stories, a schedule of events, Fourth of July Festival info and more.

Every racer will receive a print copy in their race bags. They are also available for race fans at the Seward Chamber and multiple spots around town in Seward. Spectators can also pick up a copy at Race Heaquarters (the Flamingo Lounge parking lot, 208 Fourth Ave.) on July 4.

Here is the digital copy:

Racers of the 96th Mount Marathon Race:

Please read the important final information below!

• July 3 SCHEDULE, Seward High School, 2100 Swetman Ave.
  5-8 p.m. — Bib Pickup– Bring ID; Juniors must be accompanied by parent
  5-8 p.m. — Pasta Feed, $15 – benefits the Seward HS athletic booster club
  6 p.m. — Auction & Raffle – 14 total auction spots awarded and 1 raffle spot drawn
  6:45 p.m. — Safety meeting – First-timers must sign off that they’ve completed the full course in training (Parents must sign for juniors); bib pick-up for first-timers immediately after
• July 4 Race START TIMES
  Juniors— 9 a.m. (boys and girls start together)
  Men — Wave 1 at 11 a.m., Wave 2 at 11:03 a.m., Wave 3 at 11:06 a.m.
  Women  — Wave 1 at 2 p.m., Wave 2 at 2:03 p.m., Wave 3 at 2:06 p.m.

NOTE: As usual, RETURNING racers may pick up their bibs on Race Day July 4 beginning at 8 a.m. at Race Headquarters in the Flamingo Lounge parking lot, 208 Fourth Ave.; bring ID.

• ROSTERS
  See our updated rosters HERE
  Participant Tracking — https://runsignup.com/Race/FindARunner/?raceId=114671
  Live Results — Link will be posted here July 4: https://runsignup.com/Race/AK/Seward/MountMarathon
• SPECTATORS and FINISH PEN
  Spectator Info HERE. Please let your supporters know that for safety reasons the pen is for Racers and Officials ONLY and this will be enforced.
• MMR MERCHANDISE
  Merch is now available with our new permanent logo created by Sarah Glaser! Find some at the Seward Chamber, bib pickup, race headquarters and the awards ceremony.
• SHOWERS
  Showers are available FOR RACERS ONLY from 1-5 p.m. July 4 at the AVTEC Student Center, 519 4th Ave.
• AWARDS CEREMONY at AVTEC (with Door Prizes!)
  6 p.m. AVTEC Gymnasium, 519 4th Ave, Seward AK 99664
  Include a chance to win great DOOR PRIZES for all attendees!

• GRANDSTAND Podium Awards
  Brief Top 5 overall awards on the grandstand just north of the finish line for Juniors at 10 a.m., Men at 12:15 p.m.and Women at 3:15 p.m.

• PARKING
  Parking may be easiest to find a few blocks from the race course. Note that Fourth Avenue from Washington to Jefferson Streets will be CLOSED beginning at 2 p.m. July 3 for course set-up.

• NO DRONES OR DOGS
  Flying drones along all race trails and throughout downtown Seward is prohibited. Also please keep dogs off the race course and in the crowded downtown area.

• LIVESTREAM BROADCAST
  The Livestream Broadcast will be cool! Find all links HERE. There will also be separate Finish Line Feeds showing all finishers.Have a memorable experience,
  The Mount Marathon Race Committee

(Featured photo of Taylor Turney running a 9:54 downhill, by Todd List)

(Originally published in 2024 MMR Guide; updated July 2)

Juniors: Boonstra and Marvin Seek to Defend Titles

By Matias Saari
MMR Race Director

Tania Boonstra’s recipe for success is to climb as fast as possible and then hold off her pursuers on the downhill.

It worked for the Kenai runner last year when she built a 2 ½-minute lead on the next-best climber (her sister Jayna) and then coasted to victory over Rose Conway of Anchorage. That flipped the script from 2022, when Conway won after chasing down Tania and Jayna Boonstra on the downhill.

“It was really awesome (to win) after being so close the year before,” Tania said about 2023. “I just really tried to push on the way up because I’m not as strong as the downhills. … (The downhill) is a little intimidating sometimes.”

After a successful high school track season, the 16-year-old took a couple weeks off and then participated in the Lynn Canal Training Camp in Juneau, which includes hiking, running, and other recreational activities.

With Jayna aging up to the women’s race this year, Tania will lose the comfort of sisterhood in the junior event.

“It’s fun to warm up with my sister,” she said. “But I’m excited for her to do the full course.”

Pint-sized 12-year old Wren Spangler took third last year and appears in good form again after placing eighth at the Government Peak up-and-down race on June 1 ahead of several women assigned to the adult first wave at Mount Marathon.

The top Seward junior is Olive Jordan, 14, who placed fourth last year after posting the fastest downhill split among 124 racers.

Hannah Bodkin of Eagle River (fifth last year) and Aubrey Virgin of Palmer (sixth last year) will also be pushing for the podium.

One potential advantage for Boonstra is that her father, Todd, is a three-time Olympian in Nordic skiing who won the Mount Marathon men’s race four times. Presumably Tania can glean a few training and racing tips from him.

Boys race challenger Vebjorn Flagstad is in a similar boat as Tania Boonstra: his Norwegian father, Trond, is a two-time MMR champion.

“My dad has helped me a lot with this race,” Flagstad said. “Last year I was able to use his routes to get up and down the cliff pretty fast and I’m hoping this year we will go out and do some of the workouts he did to train for Mount Marathon.”

Flagstad’s goal is to stay close to Coby Marvin, whose mom Christy has won Mount Marathon three times while father Ben has placed as high as fifth.

“It would be great to be able to hang with (Coby) for at least part of the race because last year I didn’t see him at all on the uphill section,” said Flagstad. “I definitely think if I have him in sight it would be a lot easier to keep with him rather than just chasing someone way ahead of me.”

In last year’s mudfest, Marvin built a lead of 1:41 over Flagstad on the climb to the halfway point and wound up winning by that exact margin.

In 2022, Marvin posted the second-fastest junior boys time in race history at 25 minutes, 27 seconds to become the first boy within a minute of Bill Spencer’s storied record of 24:30 from 1973. That’s believed to be Alaska’s longest-standing running record.

“It would be great to run fast and get close to Bill’s record again,” Marvin said. “I think it’s going to depend on conditions.”

This will be Marvin’s last chance to chase Spencer before he graduates to the men’s race in 2025. Spencer, 68, is entered again in the men’s race and plans to watch the junior event to see if this is the year his record finally falls.

Marvin said his training has changed this year for two reasons: he’s busier now after beginning work at AKtive Soles Performance Footwear on April 1, and he’s becoming addicted to whitewater kayaking.

“I try to go (kayaking) 3-4 times a week, preferably more,” Marvin said. “So I try to usually get a (running) workout in before I go kayaking.”

Other names to watch in the boys race include 15-year-old Raven Spangler of Palmer, the fastest downhiller in the field who placed fourth last year; talented skier Hatcher Menkens, who’s making his MMR debut; up-and-comer Corbin Wilson of Palmer; and Robbie Annett, a state champion track runner who will likely lead the race to the base of the mountain.

The junior field of up to 300 runners — boys and girls run together but are separated in the results — also features four quartets: the Rubeos from Wasilla, Shahas from Eagle River, Sensabaughs from Palmer, and Mehls from Eagle River all have four junior racers entered.

Fierce and Friendly Defines Women’s Race 

(Originally published in the MMR Guide; Updated July 2)

By Matias Saari
MMR Race Director

Can the Palmer power trio sweep again?

Christy Marvin, Meg Inokuma and Denali Strabel pulled off a 1-2-3 finish in 2023, but a repeat of that performance from the little town in the MatSu Valley seems unlikely given the strong competition and an injury to last year’s champion.

Last year, Marvin overtook Meg Inokuma on Jefferson Street for her third win and 10th Top 3 finish in 10 attempts. At 42, she also became the second-oldest women’s champion, denying the 43-year-old Inokuma of that honor. Strabel, 34, a Seward native and new Palmer resident, placed an emotional third.

But this year may be different. In early June, Strabel was confident in her fitness after a runner-up performance at the Turnagain Arm Trail Run and Inokuma was coming off a strong ascent at the Government Peak Climb. But Marvin was sidelined with plantar fasciitis (a foot injury) and two types of tendonitis.

“I do plan to race MMR even if I have to take the week before and after off,” Marvin texted June 6 while camping in Seward. “I’ve been doing a lot of biking, some slower hiking, and a few other random cross training options.” (UPDATE: Marvin confirmed on June 30 that she intends to race, but added that she did almost no running in June).

Marvin, who trained regularly with Strabel this winter, thrives on the female camaraderie so evident in mountain running these days.

“I’m beyond excited to be a part of a group of ladies who are chasing records and breaking down barriers in women’s mountain running. We can do great things alone, but incredible things together,” Marvin said.

Strabel echoed the “stronger together” sentiment.

“It is an honor to be part of the group building this example of loving and supporting other women. It’s magical to bring women along with you and generate this sisterhood in the mountains,” Strabel said. “I also don’t limit this supporting mindset to the ‘top’ women. I want to create a space where everyone feels supported.”

A three-time winner of the junior race at Mount Marathon, Strabel has seven Top-5 finishes in the women’s race but has yet to join her mother, Patti Foldager, on the winners’ list. Holder of the women’s downhill record, Strabel believes she can improve on her personal best of 52 minutes and would no doubt be in the mix if she accomplishes that.

Meanwhile, Inokuma says she simply enjoys spending time in the mountains. She doesn’t train specifically for races and rarely wears a watch in competition. Although she was first to the top of Mount Marathon last year and nearly held off Marvin, she’s not driven to try to win races. “As long as I push myself as much as I can, that’s my personal win,” she said.

There is no shortage of other contenders.

Two-time champion Hannah Lafleur of Seward missed last year’s race due to pregnancy and is now racing again while mother to an 8-month old daughter.

Klaire Rhodes was fourth a year ago shortly after competing at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria; she has been racing throughout the U.S. in recent years and claimed the Knoya Ridge Run in Anchorage on June 6.

Eagle River newcomers Shauna Severson and Campbell Peterson could make waves along with Rosie Fordham, a standout skier and runner at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who hails from Australia.

Speaking of the land Down Under, Jessica Yeaton — the 2018 Mount Marathon champion — twice represented Australia at the Winter Olympics in Nordic skiing. She graduated high school in Anchorage and now works as a physical therapist in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Unfortunately, her participation in Mount Marathon is doubtful due to serious injuries sustained in a snowmachining accident in early April.

“I wasn’t able to train or work for about six weeks,” Yeaton said, adding that she’ll only race, despite lacking peak fitness, if she’s fully confident that won’t cause a setback in her recovery. (UPDATE: Yeaton confirmed on June 30 that she will NOT be racing).

Also signed up yet again are Patti Foldager of Hope and Ellyn Brown of Anchorage. They were the first women to complete 40 races in 2023 and that accomplishment will be recognized at this year’s awards ceremony. They will also be the honorary starters of the women’s race and fire the start pistol for Wave 1.

“My mother has always been a pioneer in my eyes. She won the first women’s only race in 1985,” Denali Strabel said about Foldager. “(She) has always shown me what patience and determination can produce. I’m honored to run alongside her.”

Also worthy of celebration is Tali Novakovich, who will be the youngest possible age to participate in the women’s race: her 18^th birthday is on the Fourth of July.

The 2024 races also marks the launching of a non-binary division. Zoe Dohring of Anchorage and Madi Sudweeks of Utah will participate among women while Heath McTee of Texas will race with the men. The non-binary entrants will have their own results and receive the same awards as the men’s and women’s divisions.