At least one new men’s champion will be crowned this weekend at the Juneau Marathon and Half Marathon.
Reigning marathon champ Shawn Miller won’t be at the starting line when the race starts at 8 a.m. at Savikko Park in Douglas, but there will be plenty of competition to pick up the slack — well over 200 runners expect to show for the two races.
“It’s the running club’s keystone event of the year that provides a lot of our funding to support the club,” said David Epstein, vice president of the Juneau Trail and Road Runners.
There were 175 people pre-registered for the event on Thursday afternoon, according to Epstein, with more expected to register at Nugget Alaskan Outfitter Thursday night, and at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center 4:30-6 p.m Friday night and right before the race.
The marathon and half-marathon both travel along the Douglas and North Douglas highways and finish back in Savikko Park. The marathon turns around near False Outer Point, while the half marathon turns around near Fish Creek Road.
Miller was joined by Alta Anzalone, Josh Musson and Lily Burger-Pothier on top of the podium last year. In the marathon, Miller and Anzalone posted times of 2:43:20 and 3:52:43, respectively. In the half marathon, Musson and Burger-Pothier posted times of 1:17:07 and 1:41:09, respectively.
The marathon races began in Juneau in 1971, and went by “Frank Maier Marathon” for several decades until it was changed to the Juneau Marathon last year.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports on Twitter at @akempiresports.
