Mount Marathon News

2023 Safety Tours June 17 and June 24

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2023 Safety Tours June 17 and June 24! 

WHAT: Safety tours led by veteran Mount Marathon runners
WHEN: Saturday June 17 and Saturday June 24 from 12-1:45 p.m.
WHERE: Meet at the picnic table near the gate on upper Lowell Canyon Road no later than 11:45 a.m. The Tour starts at 12 p.m.
WHY: The tour will focus on helping participants travel safely up and down the bottom third of Mount Marathon. The cliff and roots routes, along with the creek (also known as The Gut) and a portion of scree running will be covered. Participants will be divided into small groups. Each group will hike at the pace of the slowest participant.
NOTE: this tour does NOT fulfill the first-timer requirement of completing the entire course before race day.
WHO: Anyone is welcome, but first-timers at the 2023 race or future newcomers would benefit most.
HOW MUCH: Free! No pre-registration required. Participants must sign waiver. Junior participants must have a parent or guardian sign their waiver.
WHAT TO BRING: Suitable trail shoes, water, gloves
INFO: Contact Matias Saari at director@mountmarathon.com

NOTE: To add the Safety Tours to your Google Calendar, visit our website’s “Schedule of Events”

2023 Bib Numbers and Waves Assigned!

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May 20, 2023

2023 bib numbers and waves have been assigned!

To find your bib number (listed alphabetically), simply visit the following links and scroll down.

MEN — https://mountmarathon.com/?division=mens
WOMEN — https://mountmarathon.com/?division=womens
GIRLS — https://mountmarathon.com/?division=girls
BOYS — https://mountmarathon.com/?division=boys

WAVE 1 — Bibs 1-120 for men and women
WAVE 2 — Bibs 201-320 for men and women
WAVE 3 — Bibs 401-530 for men and women

JUNIORS — Boys are 1-151 and Girls are 201-350 — but there is just one mass-start wave.

For an explanation of our bib and wave assignment process, visit:
https://mountmarathon.com/definitions/wave-change/

WAVE CHANGE REQUEST — If you believe you belong in a different wave, fill out the wave change request form. The deadline is May 31.

Online Auction Monday May 1 at 5:30 p.m.!

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Online Auction For 2023

For the women’s and men’s races, additional race spots are offered through an online auction on May 1. There is no auction for the juniors race.

The Online Auction Process

On May 1, three race slots will be auctioned for both the men’s and women’s races in a live online auction on Zoom. These are intended to give an opportunity for Alaskans or out-of-staters who require more planning than the July 3 auction to lock in a spot more than two months before race day.

2023 Details

When: 5:30 p.m. Alaska Time on Monday, May 1
Number of available spots: 3 men’s priority spots and 3 women’s priority spots
Minimum bid: $200 for men and $200 for women
Minimum bid increments: $50
Zoom Link: Click HERE

Auction rules and instructions:

  • Each participant must be set up to join a Zoom meeting (those lacking the technology or knowledge should join a friend’s or family member’s account).
  • Participants are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to join on a desktop computer or laptop with an Internet plan as opposed to a mobile phone that uses a data plan. The auction is much better viewed on a computer. Also, being perfectly synched with the auctioneer’s voice for bidding purposes is more likely achieved on a computer.
  • The Zoom site will open at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1 (30 minutes before the auction starts) to allow participants time for testing their technology. The actual auction will start at 5:30 p.m. SHARP.
  • The Seward Chamber of Commerce is not responsible for anyone whose bids fail to come through promptly due to connectivity issues or other technological problems.
  • Use Gallery view; this will enable participants to see the auctioneer and other contestants.
  • Participants will be muted by the auctioneer.
  • All bidding must be done through the chat function (test the chat when you join by posting your name and location)
  • Each winning bidder must text their name and phone number to 907-529-4178. Organizers will follow up shortly after the auction ends for credit card payment in full.
  • Auctions winners who have never entered the lottery will receive a registration link to get them added to the MMR database and entered for 2023.
  • Auction winners will be “priority” entrants in 2023, meaning they can requalify through the Top 50 Percent in Age Group Rule.
  • The race director will determine auction winners’ bib and wave assignments.
  • Those who fail to win an online auction spot have another chance for entry at the in-person auction at 6 p.m. July 3 at Seward High School. Seven men’s and seven women’s spots will be auctioned then.

2023 Logo Contest Winner Announced!

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Danielle Sukhlall of Fairbanks is the winner of the 2023 Mount Marathon logo contest.

Her entry depicts five runners atop a whale with a steep mountain behind them. The Mount Marathon Race Committee chose it as their favorite among 23 entries.

The logo will be used on the 2023 racer and volunteer t-shirts, on this year’s patch and for other promotional purposes.

Sukhlall discovered the contest somewhat by chance.

“I was looking on the (Mount Marathon) website to find more information on how to sign up to volunteer,” Sukhlall said. “While I was looking at the website I came across the logo contest. I was so excited! I love graphic design so I saw this as a cool opportunity to challenge myself outside of work.”

Sukhlall has lived in Fairbanks for three years, where she works as a broadcast journalist for the U.S. Air Force. A visit to Seward helped inspire the logo design.

“One of my favorite memories was seeing the whales during a boat excursion around the Kenai Fjords National Park,” she said. “I grew up watching these videos of whales on the Discovery Channel but it was amazing and very different to experience in person. That experience is what made me want to incorporate a whale in my design. I wanted the design to be a mix of the land and sea since a huge part of Seward’s beauty is also the sea animals that come with it.”

Finalists in this year’s contest included Jason Leslie of Seward, Rebecca Nyssen and Taylor Thorn.

2023 Registration is Open March 1-31

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Registration for the 95th Mount Marathon Race will open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, March 1 and runs through midnight on March 31.

There are two options for registration at the home page of this website: Priority Registration for those who qualify and Lottery Registration for first-timers and those without priority.

The cost to enter under priority registration remains $85 for adults and $35 for juniors.
The cost to enter the lottery remains $20 for adults and $15 for juniors (lottery winners will be invoiced the balance of the full registration fee in April).

The 2023 roster will apply the Top 50 Percent in Age Group Rule to the 2022 results. This rule aims to improve lottery odds and increase the number of lottery spots available.
Visit the race’s home page to access 2022 age group results that show who finished in the top 50 percent of their age group.

Visit https://mountmarathon.com/racer-selection/ for all entry options and rules.

The defending champions are Allie McLaughlin, who set a women’s record in 2022; Max King (men); Coby Marvin (boys) and Rose Conway (girls).

The race date is Tuesday, July 4.