Women’s Mount Marathon record smashed, men’s winning age record erased

SEWARD, Alaska (KTUU) - For the first time since 2019, the Mount Marathon Race will be run in Seward on the Fourth of July.

The race was held on July 7 last year and canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. Returning men’s race champion and record holder David Norris of Anchorage withdrew from this year’s race, but seven of the top 10 men from 2021 will be competing again this year according to Race Director Matias Saari.

This year’s festivities kick off with the Junior Race, which starts at 9 a.m. According to Saari, there are 275 runners competing in the junior race.

3:15 p.m. McLaughlin sets women’s record in Mount Marathon Race title run

Allie McLaughlin of Colorado Springs, Colorado won the women’s race in an astonishing record-setting time of 47:09.

McLaughlin led all runners to the top of the mountain with a record-setting time up Mount Marathon in 34:17. McLaughlin broke the previous record time of 47:48 set by Emelie Forsberg in 2015. The win is McLaughlin’s first at Mount Marathon.

Hannah Lafleur of Seward finished in second — over five minutes behind McLaughlin. Christy Marvin and Meg Inokuma of Palmer took third and fourth, and Klaire Rhodes took fifth place.

There were three Anchorage-based runners who finished in the top 10 with Rhodes, Rosie Frankowski who finished sixth and Najeeby who took ninth. Additionally, three Palmer women placed in the top 10 with Marvin, Inokuma and Sophie Wright who finished 10th.

According to the Mount Marathon live stream broadcast, King is the oldest runner ever to win the Mount Marathon Race.

12:00 p.m. - King wins men’s Mount Marathon Race

Max King of Bend, Oregon won his second Mount Marathon Race title with a time of 43:37. Behind King was Thomas O’Harra and Lars Arneson of Anchorage, Lyon Kopsack of Palmer and Roman Gross of Talkeetna.

King last won Mount Marathon in 2019 when he finished in 43:39. King held the lead to the midway point of the uphill and to the summit of Mount Marathon. However, King’s time was fourth-fastest down the mountain. Kopsack clocked a 10:18 time down the mountain to jump two places and finish fourth.

Kopsack took the title for the 18-29-year-old age group, Arneson was first among 30-39-year-olds and King was among the elder statesmen in the race, finishing first in the 40-49-year-old age group. Ben Marvin of Palmer finished ninth overall and second to King in the 40-49-year-old age group.

The course record for male runners was set by David Norris in 2016 at 41:26.

10:00 a.m. - Marvin, Conway claim Junior titles

Coby Marvin of Palmer and Rose Conway of Anchorage secured junior titles in the Junior Mount Marathon Race in Seward to kick off the Independence Day festivities on Resurrection Bay. A full set of race results can be found on the Mount Marathon Race Website.

Conway took first overall for girls, racing in the 12-14-year-old age group. Conway’s time of 33:18 was 23 seconds faster than Tania Boonstra of Kenai, also competing in the 12-14-year-old group. Emily Moore of Eagle River took the 15-17-year-old title, placing third overall at 34:55. Olive Jordan and Hailey Ingalls — both of Seward — rounded out the top five.

Conway was 2:46 off the 12-14-year-old record set by Allie Ostrander of Kenai.

Boys race champion Coby Marvin of Palmer and second-place finisher Ali Papillon of Boulder, Colorado both finished faster than the previous 15-17-year-old Mount Marathon record set by Miles Knotek 11 years ago. However, both fell short of the fastest Junior Mount Marathon Race time ever set by Bill Spencer in 1973 at 24:30.

Marvin ran the uphill portion in 17:52 — establishing a 37-second lead over Papillon — but Papillon ran the downhill section 26 seconds faster than Marvin. Marvin held on to his nine-second lead at the finish line, coming across the tape in 25:27. Papillon’s 25:43 time was 36 seconds faster than Knotek’s previous age-group record.

A trio of Anchorage runners finished out the top five with Robbie Annett finishing third, Blake Hanley finishing fourth and Owen Young coming in fifth place. Raven Spangler of Palmer took the 12-14-year-old title, coming in seventh place overall with a time of 30:56.

The 94th Mount Marathon Race begins at 9 a.m. on Independence Day in Seward

The age-group records for 7-11-year-old girls, 12-14-year-old girls and 15-17-year-old girls are all held by Ostrander.

For the boys, Aaron Thrall set the 7-11-year-old age-group record in 1994 and Miles Knotek set the 15-17-year-old record in 2011. Coby Marvin of Palmer set the 12-14-year-old record in 2021 and is competing in this year’s race as well.

The men’s race will begin at 11 a.m. and the women’s race will start at 2 p.m.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information.

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