Impervious to the rain, more than fifty participants gathered at the starting line outside the Nolan Center for the fifth-annual Alaska Bearfest marathon on Sunday.
Volunteers manned aid stations around the course as well-wishers were ready to make some noise along the sidelines. Once they were off, participants were then redirected at various points in the course to complete their 5K, half- or full-marathon.
Local runner George Benson spent a good portion of this year putting the course together, improving on previous routes.
“That (last year’s course) was a very complicated marathon,” he said. Benson added that this year’s asymmetrical course was “comparatively simpler.” It included an additional 1.5 mile loop past the airport so the marathon turnarounds on Zimovia Highway would be on a more level surface rather than up a hill.
More than plotting and measuring out the 26-plus miles of course, Benson also went through the arduous process of getting Bearfest’s marathon certified with U.S.A. Track and Field (USATF), the country’s governing body for track and field events. If the route gets endorsed by USATF, runners can compare their times more reliably and use them to qualify for larger, prestigious marathons such as those held in Boston and New York.
“I think there’s a pretty steep learning curve,” Benson said of the process. “It wasn’t easy, at least for me.”
As of Monday, event organizer Sylvia Ettefagh was still awaiting confirmation from USATF that the course has been certified.
Despite having only two weeks to prepare for it, Benson also ran in the Bearfest marathon. Running now for about seven years, he said that this was his second marathon this year and eleventh overall.
A total of eight runners participated in the full marathon, 24 ran the half-marathon, and 22 participated in the 5K.
Andy Russell took first place this year, winning a trip for two to the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Dustin Johnson came in first for the half-marathon.
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