Runner's ponytail has a life of its own

• It takes six heavy-duty hair ties to contain it into a braidlike ponytail.

• It weighs about two pounds. "People say, 'You'd be way faster without it,' '' he said.

• It soaks up so much sweat, and sometimes rain, that at times Johnston has stopped to wring it out during the long 100-mile races he favors (he's finished four 100- mile races, and he's won them all -- the recent Resurrection Pass 100, the Cactus Rose trail run in Texas and the winter-time Susitna 100 on the Iditarod Trail twice.

• It's been growing since 1996.

• It's the product of a divorce.

"We went to the same hairdresser, and it was her best friend," said Johnston, 40, of Wasilla. "She would've scalped me. I've never had another haircut."

Big wild fundraiser

Sunday's record field of 2,378 should help the Big Wild Life Runs come close to the $20,000 the event raised last year for the Anchorage Running Club, which in turn donates much of the money to various running causes.

The club funds three $1,500 scholarships for high school runners, gave $3,000 to support a kids' running program and is donating $5,000 over a span of three years to UAA's cross country team.

It's the only fundraiser of the year for the club, which underwrites a couple of other races and is especially keen on helping races held in and around downtown.

"We want to keep events downtown," club vice president Mike Halko said.

Sunday's event turned the area around Town Square into a mini-festival, complete with live music.

One of the biggest attractions for runners -- other than Humpy's Alehouse, conveniently located at the finish -- was a canopy tent near the finish line where the timekeepers worked.

They used a system called J-Chip that produced results so instantaneously that guest announcer Bart Yasso -- a running icon who writes for Runner's World -- was able to give overall and age-group placements as runners crossed the finish line.

Over at the tent, runners could enter their bib numbers on one of two laptops and get their times and placings, or they could view a larger screen that scrolled the names and times of the top five finishers in every event. All of this information was available even as runners continued to stream across the finish.

Rebranded as the Big Wild Life Runs in 2008, the event includes the Humpy's Marathon, the Skinny Raven Half-Marathon, the Snow City Cafe 5-K and the Children's Hospital at Providence kids fun run.

Family affair

Although Davya Flaharty couldn't catch a fading Regina Joyce at the end of the women's marathon, it was a good day for the Baker family of Fairbanks.

Flaharty and her older sister Gina finished second and fourth, respectively, in the race. Two years separate the sisters -- Davya is 25 and Gina is 27 -- but only two minutes separated them at the finish line Sunday. Davya clocked 3:10:09.2 and Gina 3:12:06.5.

Both women beat the time registered by their dad, 52-year-old Bad Bob Baker, a well-known endurance athlete. He placed 22nd overall and fourth in his age group in 3:26:32.9.

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.