YK Delta athletes conquer Mt. Marathon

Mt. Marathon racer Alyse Lincoln heads up the road to the base. photo by Greg Lincoln

by Greg Lincoln

Michael Ulroan of Chevak gets ready to cross the finish line in downtown Seward, AK during the 96th annual Mt. Marathon Race on the 4th of July last Thursday.

The Mt. Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska goes back to 1915 and this year was the 96th running of the race. The race is held every year on Independence Day. The start and finish take place in a packed downtown Seward teeming with visitors, race fans, racers, and vendors from all over the world.

Race conditions vary each year, this year the weather was cloudy with temps in the low 50s. Folks wore jackets and sweaters at the fairgrounds. The day before there was some rain and most of the mountain was covered in fog.

Racers coming off the mountain are usually covered with mud and dirt from head to toe, sweat, sometimes blood and determined expressions from battling the rough conditions on the trail.

Congratulations to our race finisher Alyse Lincoln of Toksook Bay/Bethel. She completed the women’s race in 2 hours 5 mins, 29 seconds – shaving off almost 3 minutes from last year. This is her fifth race up and down the mountain, she also ran as a junior (age 11-14) with her siblings, good job!

“Crossing the finish line I was relieved I made it without a scratch and in one piece,” she said. “The best part of the race was seeing the turn-around rock. Knowing I made it and that I did it. All I had left to do was glide down, which is my favorite part.”

Also racing this year was Michael Ulroan of Chevak. This is his first race up the mountain. He finished in 1 hour 13 minutes and 22 seconds. We caught up with him at the finish.

“It was good, the weather was nice and cloudy and cool. I think going up in the woods I was tired but once I broke out of the woods I got my second wind. There was a gap between myself and a pack ahead, I was able to close that gap – on the uphill,” he said. “I feel good – it was quite intense going down. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Going down the snow, I don’t think I ever slid faster than that – that was scary. It felt short because I was going so fast. There was some rocks as well, so I had to avoid the rocks.”

Ulroan turned 36 this year. He has been entering the lottery for the race for the past 5-6 years and he finally got in for 2024. He has mountain racing experience, including the Alyeska Mountain Race.

He hopes to race again.

“It was quite the memorable experience for me. I’m just going to keep running mountain races,” Ulroan said. “I do want to say that I hope more people from our home area start running these kinds of races. It would be really great to see more of our people running and being healthy.”

The oldest runners were Fred Moore of Seward, Roger Kemppel of Anchorage, and Maureen McCRea also of Anchorage. They ran and finished in the 80-89 year old division – inspiring generations of runners.

Thank you to our hosts, the Norcross Family, for the accommodations throughout the 21 years that we have been racing, to our family and friends for your support and for holding down the fort while we are away, we could not have done it without you. And thank you to the Seward Chamber of Commerce for putting on this event year after year. Quyana.