......Is tomorrow, July 4th. Mt. Marathon is without a doubt the biggest race in AK. Tomorrow will be the 87th running of the race and many claim that it's the second oldest footrace in America - second to the Boston Marathon. The hype is in full effect and I literally cannot go anywhere in town without people inquiring. To give you perspective the town of Seward has approximately 2,500 full time residents. On July 4th nearly 30,000 - 40,000 people flood to Seward for Independence Day celebrations - centered around the race. There have been lots of stories as of late leading up to the race and I thought I'd put a collection of them here, on my blog for anyone that's interested.
The race has garnered some serious national and international attention after the tragedie(s) of two years ago where one race disappeared and has never been found and another, local Mt. Runner Matt Kenney (Story on Matt HERE) fell down the Cliff and suffered a severe TBI. Two years later Matt will be "getting back on the horse" and racing Mt. Marathon again - this time in helmet. I'm already looking forward to cheering Matt on once my race is completed!
Today's Anchorage Daily News article about the women's race:
I agree that this year's women's race is going to be incredibly exhilarating. I have NO idea what's going to happen tomorrow and that's why it's so exciting. I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed that two TV stations are showing the men's race LIVE and the women's race is only available via Internet stream.
Christy Marvin, the 2013 defending champion was recently featured on National NPR with Melissa Block!
My story with KTVA, complete with footage from my race finish when I came in 212th place...
Maps, other videos, etc:
Max Romney made a fantastic video about last year's men's race where the long-standing race record was broken. This year he'll be at it again filming a longer documentary. He's already done pre-race interviews with all the contenders and it's my understanding he'll be out tomorrow with 12 video cameras on the mountain and maybe even a drone for aerial shots!
An incredibly well-written article about the 2012 race in Runner's World called the "Last Man Up."
Race updates, results:
Live video feed here:
Here we go! Have a fun & safe July 4th everyone! Race report to follow......
Cheers,
Holly
