Mount Marathon: History, Legend & Records

The Mount Marathon Race is one of the oldest footraces in the United States, run in Seward since 1915 — and wrapped in legend.

The legend

As the story goes, the race grew out of a wager over whether a man could run up and down the mountain in under an hour. Whether or not the tale is exact, the up-and-down challenge stuck.

The record chase

Elite mountain runners come for the records, which stand as benchmarks for years and fall only rarely. The punishing climb and the wild descent make fast times hard-won.

A Seward institution

More than a century on, the race is the centerpiece of Seward's Fourth of July and one of the most storied events in Alaska sport.

See race day on our Mount Marathon guide, and read how to watch and how to enter.