From left, Ashton Adams, 10, Semaj Wright, 12, and Zavon Sharp, 9, get their photo taken by Adams’ grandmother, Leslie Adams, before participating in the Alaska Heart Run & Walk in Anchorage on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Hundreds gathered outside the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on Saturday morning to participate in the annual Alaska Heart Run & Walk, hosted by the American Heart Association.
Informational booths and games were scattered throughout the parking lot near the starting line, including a survivor’s booth lined with index cards clipped to a red strand of yarn. Some were decorated with names while others read, “Just want to live longer” and “I didn’t give up.”
According to the fundraiser website, participants raised nearly $250,000, which will go toward heart disease research, training and advocacy.
Notes and names of survivors are pinned to a strand of yarn at the survivor’s booth. (Emily Mesner / ADN) Chrissy Barber holds John Barber’s hand as the father-daughter duo approaches the finish line. (Emily Mesner / ADN) Roman Marcotte and Nadia Marcotte cross the starting line and listen as people cheer them on. (Emily Mesner / ADN) A boy dressed in a heart costume watches people cross the starting line during the Alaska Heart Run & Walk. (Emily Mesner / ADN) People cross the starting line during the Alaska Heart Run & Walk in Anchorage on Saturday. (Emily Mesner / ADN) A man crosses the finish line after participating in the Alaska Heart Run & Walk 5K. (Emily Mesner / ADN) Becky Butler sprints toward the finish line. (Emily Mesner / ADN) People begin walking from the starting line and take a selfie during the Alaska Heart Run & Walk. (Emily Mesner / ADN) Women cross the finish line with their dog, which is dressed to match in a pink tutu. (Emily Mesner / ADN) June Takagi nears the finish line as she participates with other racers in the Alaska Heart Run & Walk in Anchorage on Saturday. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Emily Mesner is a former multimedia journalist for the Anchorage Daily News. She previously worked for the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve and the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, at the Cordova Times and at the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Michigan.
