Established in 1974 and held annually since then the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage attracts runners and participants from all across the world. In fact in recent years more than two thirds of the participants have been non residents. This year the event is scheduled for the 18th of June 2011.
Organized jointly by the Anchorage Parks & Recreation and University of Alaska Anchorage, the event comprises 5 separate events. These are the Full marathon which is 26.2 miles in length, the half marathon – 13.1 miles, the marathon relay – a four member 6.5 miles stretch which is a new addition, the five miler course and the 1.6 long youth cup.
All the courses give participants a panoramic scenic view of Anchorage’s beautiful nature. Starting from the foot of the Chugach Mountains, the long winding course runs across the Cook Inlets cool edges.
In an effort to make the events more environmentally friendly, organizers have gone to considerable length to introduce eco friendly aspects. These are in the shape of scrapping paper trails and implementing online registration methods, eliminating balloons and using purely reusable decorations, use of bio degradable or recyclable posters, cups and containers.
As always winners of the marathon and half marathon in both the men and women’s categories will receive two roundtrip air tickets, courtesy of Alaska Airlines. Additionally, any contestant who breaks the men’s marathon record of 2:38:19 and women’s record of 2:22:29 will receive a $5000 cash prize this year. A $1000 cash award awaits contestants who break the half marathon records of 1:07:47 in the men’s category and 1:18:41 in the women’s category. High quality medals as well as t-shirts for all those who finish the race, are further additions to the 2011 edition of the race.
The race receives much support from the National Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in terms of their ‘teams in training’ programme which regularly sends participants for the event since 1994.
The Mayor’s Marathon is an ideal opportunity for travelers to seize the chance to visit Alaska and those looking for accommodation amongst Anchorage hotels will find the Millennium Alaskan Hotel Anchorage an ideal location. The hotel is set in a picturesque location which has made it the perfect setting for many Anchorage weddings.
