August is a great time for a marathon in Anchorage. After two years in a row roasting in the late summer heat in the lower forty-eight, it was nice to find mid-50s and cloudy.

The expo was small but adequate for the size of the race. The pasta dinner was quite a bargain for the advance ticket price. The downtown area was a fairly short cab ride from the airport and there were several hotels within easy walking distance so a car was not necessary.

The course was scenic but had lots of little ups and downs. No split times but there was a mat at the start. Many water stations; little entertainment (but the native drum corps at the last turn around was inspiring); crowd support was intermittent and mostly concentrated where the relay exchanges were. Great shirt/medal and the post race was nicely done with bread, fruit and pretzels.

There are more choices than youd think for Alaska but this was a good one. If you havent been, plan some extra time on the back end for touristy things (there are lots to choose from).

The Big Wild Life Runs Marathon is a fun race held mainly on a bike/walking trail. Spectator rating is low but those that were out were most enthusiastic. Because you're on a bike trail it doesn't lend itself to the throngs of city folks lining the streets like most city marathons. The course is relatively flat but the back half does have some small grades and the hill on the last mile is a real time killer if you're close on time. Despite that I still PR'd. Good water stations and volunteers. Thank you so much!!

Long sleeve tech shirt and finishers medal is very nice. Only complaint is that the course is open and there were lots of bicyclists and walkers later in the race. Some with loose dogs following them. One guy on a recumbent bike came within a whisper of clipping a group of us. This is not cool when you're 17 miles into a marathon dodging all this. I'm not sure why they have to start the race so late in the morning. 9am is really late. A 7 or 8 am start would make more sense. Lots of great places to eat and drink in Anchorage. Definitely try some of the local brews. Everybody was 'in tune' with the race weekend and so nice and helpful with info when needed. If you're doing the 50 state and DC deal then this is my pick for Alaska!

Most of the course is on a relatively flat paved bike trail in the woods and it was great to not have to deal with vehicle traffic. The last half mile of the course is back in the city of Anchorage and the finish is down a straightaway that seemed pretty dramatic-at least to me, because I was about to PR. Spectators were very sparse but the volunteers at the aid stations were good. However, I will complain that some of the course markings were iffy on the bike trail--some forks in the road were not marked with anything except chalk or sticks, and we almost made a wrong turn late in the race. There were teenaged volunteers at the intersection looking bored, and if I hadn't called out 'which way?' we could've gone off the course. This was about 4:30 into the race, we weren't really straggling. This is a small complaint. BWLR was well organized and the fact that the RD was hosting a half and a 5K on the same day didn't get in the way of the marathon. If you need a reason to go to beautiful Alaska, let this race be it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon as my choice for running in the state of Alaska. Convenient start/finish line to all downtown hotels, friendly and plentiful volunteers, great course. I personally enjoyed the out and back in both locations so I could see the leaders twice. Very few miles on roads, so no traffic issues. This is a great marathon put on by the Anchorage Running Club and I highly recommend it as a nice change from the huge, crowded, corporate type marathons. A lot less crowded in Alaska this time of the year too. My only complaint/question was to the start time of 9am - it's light by 5:30am that time of the year, so not sure why such a late start. I did not attend the expo or pasta dinner so I can't comment on them.

I loved not having any cars around. Run was on paved trails in mostly wooded areas. Very nice, very comfortable weather. First turn-around was just past the airport. Had a 747 landing directly overhead. VERY COOL. Less than a mile later, a moose and baby. MORE COOL.
Lots of water. Great support. Nice finish area with food and music. Very festive enjoyable end zone.
THANKS !!

Pros:
1)The marathon was run almost totally on a bike trail. Most of the course was fully treed and nice to stay cool and out of the sun.
2)The event was well organized.
3) The pasta feed was great and at a very reasonable price compared to local restaurant prices.
Cons:
1)Walkers and bikers were on the trail at the same time as the runners. It seemed a bit dangerous with the bikers, because the trail had lots of curves and sometimes it was hard to see the bikers who were coming at me. Also, I had to go around many casual walkers who walked three abreast.
2)The Expo was one of the smallest I have seen. More effort needs to be put into finding more vendors to participate.
3) More work needs to be put into finding sponsors for the food/drink at the end of the race. It was almost non-existant. Great Harvest had some bread. There were a few slices of watermellon and small cups of pretzels. This was a real disappointment.

Well organized and well worth running. We got lucky with the weather; race day was the 1 day it didn't rain. Temperature was between 50 and 60, partly cloudy, perfect running weather. Plenty of aid stations on a scenic course. I work in aerospace so I enjoyed running directly underneath two 747's landing at the airport.

I also want to recommend the pasta feed. My experience with pasta feeds is not great so I didn't plan on going, but there seemed to be a lack of Italian restaurants in Anchorage so I bought a ticket, really worth it. Very good food, lots of it, in an upscale convention center banquet hall.

And finally, the Moose's Tooth pub has really great pizza. Also about 20 microbrews on tap for those of you that like that sort of thing. (Like me.)

Okay, we got very lucky. After days of rain and fears that this race would rival my worst experiences with wind and rain, I woke up Sunday morning to realize they actually get sun in Alaska.

The race organizers did a really good job. The expo was tiny and did not offer any last minute products to purchase and no discounted merchandise. The expo was disappointing and why there was not a booth at the expo for the Skinny Raven running store did not make sense. Thankfully, the running stores downtown were close by, so I walked over to get the normal last minute products I normally buy at the expo.

The course was very nice on running trails around a lake and along the water. It was well shaded which was important because it actually got warm (after 5 days of rain and cold it actually was nice to see the sun). My big issue with the course was that both directions where out and backs so you saw the same things twice. As a visitor to the area it would of been nice to see some other parts of the city. Also the path was narrow and with people coming in both directions, bicycle riders and walkers it got crowded and you where trying to avoid people.

The spectators where sparse but more then I expected considering where the race was held.

Finally, post-race there was no food, or to be fair barely any. I do not know if it was because I ran the marathon and they ran out, but when I got to the food area there was little if anything and no water bottles to be found.

Generally it was a nice experience but could use with some improvement.

If you are going to run a marathon in Anchorage, choose this one. It's much smaller than the Mayor's Marathon in June with a much more interesting course.

This course features two main "out and back" sections along beautiful coastline or lakes and streams. The last hill coming into downtown and the finish line are brutal, but that makes for good stories.

If you are not from Alaska, don't miss this race's namesake bar (Humpy's), which is an Anchorage icon. The Midnight Sun IPA (8% alcohol) will quell any post-race pains you have!

I agree with the other posters... I highly recommend this marathon. It's a small marathon, but you never feel like you are running alone. I really enjoyed the course and was fortunate to see a moose and her calf feeding near the 18-mile marker. Having Bart Yasso calling you out as you come down the home stretch was really cool and a really nice way to finish the race.

Great finisher's medal and great-looking, long-sleeve, technical tee to boot.