Sports

Wildfire smoke won’t stop Mount Marathon, race organizers say

With smoke from the Swan Lake wildfire limiting visibility in Seward, Mount Marathon organizers on Friday said they don’t intend to cancel or reschedule next week’s race — but they may declare an “emergency alert” that would allow runners to skip it without losing their status for next year’s race.

Such a decision won’t be made until the night before the famous Fourth of July mountain race, according to Jen Leahy of the Seward Chamber of Commerce.

On Saturday, Seward resident Doug Capra took photos of runners on the mountain. This smoke is so thick they look like black-and-white images.

“Today was the worst day this week,” he said by email. “Couldn’t even see the mountain until afternoon.”

Hardly any climbers have been on the mountain this week, said Capra, who lives about half a mile north of Mount Marathon.

A limited field is allowed into the popular mountain run each year, and the competition to get into the race is fierce. As a result, runners who acquire priority entry status — given to veterans of 10 races and to a limited number of finishers from the previous year’s race — are loath to skip a year.

An emergency alert would give runners some leeway, Leahy said. If one is issued, an announcement will be made on the race website the night before the race.

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“There’s no way we can make an inherently dangerous event safer for folks, but an emergency alert could be issued in which runners would have a pathway to opt out yet maintain their priority status,” Leahy said.

“Spectators don’t have their pressure — they can decide to stay home — but we don’t want any runner to feel like they have to make an unhealthy choice.”

Leahy said race rules allow the Chamber of Commerce the right to issue an emergency alert “in the event of unhealthy air, dangerously high temperatures or any other circumstances.”

If smoke persists but is not deemed severe enough to warrant an emergency alert, runners can get medical deferrals for any reason, including sensitivity to smoke, as long as their medical provider advises them in writing not to race, she said.

Mount Marathon has never been canceled or postponed because of weather and an emergency alert has never been issued, Leahy said.

One of the oldest footraces in the country, Mount Marathon — a 3-mile race in which runners go up and down the 3,022-foot peak near downtown Seward — began in 1915 and has been held in all but 13 years since then. The race was canceled from 1920-24 to allow for the construction of the Alaska Railroad and in 1942 because of World War II. There was a seven-year stretch with no race from 1932-38, but the reasons for that gap is unclear, Leahy said.

“It’s important to the running community that the tradition is maintained,” she said. “So even if runners have the option to not race, the fact the race goes on and is not canceled is important.”

Beth Bragg

Beth Bragg wrote about sports and other topics for the ADN for more than 35 years, much of it as sports editor. She retired in October 2021. She's contributing coverage of Alaskans involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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