Girdwood Half Marathon start. Photo courtesy of Girdwood Nordic Ski Club.
In 2016, the Girdwood Trail Marathon began as a low-key, word-of-mouth event and attracted 35 runners.
This year the event exceeded that in volunteers with 45.
The challenging tour of the Girdwood valley trails, organized by the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club, has evolved to include a marathon and half marathon and nearly 200 racers.
Leading the way on Saturday was Anchorage’s Taylor Turney in a record marathon time of 3 hours, 17 minutes and 46. He broke away from Bethel bush pilot Nate Dehaan, who finished in 3:20:59, around mile 17.
“That trail was a blast!! The miles just clicked on by cause I was having so much fun,” said Turney, whose claim to fame is being the only person to run from the top of the Mount Marathon Race to the finish in less than 10 minutes.
Turney and Dehaan were running in close proximity at Mile 14 but Turney briefly fell behind after a crash.
“I slipped on a wood plank and ripped my pack, so had to stop and repackage my stuff,” Turney said. “Nathan offered to help but I told him to keep going.”
Rosie Frankowski, a 2018 Olympic Nordic skier, won the women’s race for the second time in 3:49:24. Briana Sullivan of Girdwood took runner-up in 4:01:44.
Women’s marathon podium. Photo courtesy of Girdwood Nordic Ski Club.
In the half marathon, Eric Vilce of Anchorage remained undefeated in 1:47:31; he’s now claimed the 13.1-mile race all four times it has been held. The half marathon was created in 2020 in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when most events were canceled.
Abby Stemper won the women’s half in a record-setting 1:56:59 and placed second overall among 122 finishers.
The marathon course starts and ends outside the Alyeska Daylodge and incorporates most of the trails in the area, including a notorious “rock garden” on the Winner Creek Trail, flowy sections of the Iditarod Trail and steep climbs and technical descents on California Creek/Abe’s Trail. Because the hand tram is still not operational, runners had to cross Glacier Creek on foot this year. The course switches directions every year and ran counter-clockwise in 2023.
Melanee Stiassny crosses Glacier Creek with the assistance of a volunteer Photo courtesy of Girdwood Nordic Ski Club.
The Half Marathon includes many of the same trails and is a serious challenge of its own.
Runners from 14 states participated this year.
“What a fabulous marathon our volunteers, sponsors and participants created,” the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club posted on Facebook. “We are grateful to all of you.”
Full results can be viewed here.