User:Ceversman/Equinox Marathon

Equinox Marathon
The Equinox Marathon is an annual marathon running race hosted by the city of Fairbanks, Alaska on the Saturday in September closest to the autumnal equinox. The first race was run in September of 1963. The inaugural race was organized and won by University of Alaska Fairbanks ski team member (1961-1964) Nat Goodhue.

Race
The Equinox Marathon (26.2 miles) starts and finishes on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and is run concurrently with the Equinox Marathon Relay and the Equinox Ultramarathon (32.2 miles). The event has seen an increase in the total number of participants from 260 marathoners (338 in marathon and relay total) in 1995 to 473 (899 in the marathon, relay, and ultramarathon total) in 2009.

The race begins at an altitude of just under 500 feet (152m) and climbs to nearly 2500 feet (762m) by mile 13 before beginning the descent back to the starting altitude at mile 17.

The race course almost exclusively follows dirt trails for the first seven miles followed by alternating trail and pavement terrain for the remainder of the distance. The trail portions of the race are root-woven and technical, featuring sharp climbs and drop-offs. "The Chute" at mile 17 is a 1760 foot (536m) stretch of the race in which competitors scramble down a 22% grade trail composed of gravel and rock.