Midnight Sun Run
Encyclopedia
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Midnight Sun Run is a ten kilometer road running
event, held annually since 1983 in Fairbanks, Alaska
, that attracts participants from across the United States
and Canada
. The race takes place on the third Saturday of June each year, starting at 10 pm with the boom of a cannon that can be heard throughout Fairbanks. Despite its late evening start, there is no need for streetlights or flashlights, as the summer solstice
sun shines brightly from start to finish and beyond. Proceeds from the race benefit United Way of the Tanana Valley
and local student athletes through scholarships. In recent years the race has attracted over 3,000 participants, due in part to its special feature of running in the daylight of the midnight sun
.
Patty Center ever since the event's debut, winds though a number of Fairbanks neighborhoods and along the Chena River
, and finishes at Pioneer Park. Despite the late hour, spectators line the streets to cheer the runners onward. Temperatures ranging into the high 70s and sometimes even into the 80s in the dead of night can be a bit warm, especially for entrants from northerly latitudes, so to avoid overheating many runners are hosed down by residents along the race course.
The Midnight Sun Run became an actual midnight sun event in 1984, when the start time was moved to 10 pm. Elite runners Tom Ratcliffe and Ron Gilooly recorded the first and second fastest times in the race with times of 29:14 and 29:19, respectively, records which still stand today. In 1986, top California
n marathon
er Nancy Ditz
won the women's division, while elite American marathon stars Benji Durden
and Pete Pfitzinger
dominated the men's field that year.
In 1987, Scott Williams and Gary Fanelli
, dressed impeccably as the Blues Brothers, firmly established themselves in the wacky lore of the Midnight Sun Run's costume division, finishing tied for second overall with a time of 32:50. In 1988, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Midnight Sun Run was born, as the newspaper became the event's title sponsor. With around 2,200 participants, the run had firmly established its current reputation as one of the premier running events in Alaska
.
In conjunction with the race, The first Midnight Sun Run Runner's Expo was staged in 2000, and featured former Olympian and renowned running guru
and author Jeff Galloway
, who conducted a seminar before a standing room only crowd at the UAF Patty Center. He talked about his experiences as a runner in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and answered a variety of questions on nutrition, injuries, training methods, marathon running, and spoke at length about his widely successful and influential marathon training strategies.
In 2006, some fifty United States Army
soldiers, members of the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery with the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Wainwright
, would not let their deployment in the Iraq War prevent them from participating in the Midnight Sun Run. They held their own 10 kilometer event in northern Iraq
where they are part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a press release, 1st Sgt. Antonio Boone said it was "Quite a bit different than the last couple times I have run it. There was no forest fire smoke, no costumes and no one cheering." The soldiers wore official Midnight Sun Run bibs bearing the number 411, and received T-shirts donated and shipped from Fairbanks by race organizers. "Keeps getting easier every time I run it", said Sgt. Chad McFall, who helped push and pull a 2,300-pound howitzer
along the 10 K course in the 2004 and 2005 Midnight Sun Runs in Fairbanks, "[T]his year there was no howitzer. It made running the race a snap."
s have been a central theme for the Midnight Sun Run, and awards are given to the best coifed entrants. The costumed division is perhaps one of the most anticipated aspects of the race. Race director Mike Styles said the idea of the costumed division was to create a Fairbanks version of San Francisco's Bay to Breakers
race.
Each year a Couch Potato Award is given to the best cheering section.
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
event, held annually since 1983 in Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, that attracts participants from across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The race takes place on the third Saturday of June each year, starting at 10 pm with the boom of a cannon that can be heard throughout Fairbanks. Despite its late evening start, there is no need for streetlights or flashlights, as the summer solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
sun shines brightly from start to finish and beyond. Proceeds from the race benefit United Way of the Tanana Valley
Tanana Valley
The Tanana Valley is a lowland region in central Alaska in the United States, on the north side of the Alaska Range where the Tanana River emerges from the mountains.-Climate:...
and local student athletes through scholarships. In recent years the race has attracted over 3,000 participants, due in part to its special feature of running in the daylight of the midnight sun
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
.
Course
The Midnight Sun Run, which has started at the University of Alaska FairbanksUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
Patty Center ever since the event's debut, winds though a number of Fairbanks neighborhoods and along the Chena River
Chena River
The Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...
, and finishes at Pioneer Park. Despite the late hour, spectators line the streets to cheer the runners onward. Temperatures ranging into the high 70s and sometimes even into the 80s in the dead of night can be a bit warm, especially for entrants from northerly latitudes, so to avoid overheating many runners are hosed down by residents along the race course.
Race history
Close to 350 runners participated in the inaugural Midnight Sun Run, which started at 9:05 a.m. the morning of June 25, 1983, rather than at midnight. The course was slightly different from what it is today, finishing in downtown Fairbanks at the corner of 11th and Turner. Kent Karns was the first runner to cross the finish line, with a time of 32:28. Tricia Livingston was the first woman finisher, with a time of 40:29. The founder and race director in the event's early years was Mike Styles.The Midnight Sun Run became an actual midnight sun event in 1984, when the start time was moved to 10 pm. Elite runners Tom Ratcliffe and Ron Gilooly recorded the first and second fastest times in the race with times of 29:14 and 29:19, respectively, records which still stand today. In 1986, top California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
er Nancy Ditz
Nancy Ditz
Nancy Jane Ditz-Mosbacher is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Ditz competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics....
won the women's division, while elite American marathon stars Benji Durden
Benji Durden
Benji Durden is a Boulder, Colorado based coach of elite runners who came to prominence as a distance runner in the early 1980s, at the height of the American running boom...
and Pete Pfitzinger
Pete Pfitzinger
Peter Dickson Pfitzinger is a former American distance runner, who later became an author and exercise physiologist...
dominated the men's field that year.
In 1987, Scott Williams and Gary Fanelli
Gary Fanelli
Gary M. Fanelli is a long-distance runner from the United States who represented American Samoa in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Fanelli's 2:25:35 performance at the Olympics is an American Samoan national record...
, dressed impeccably as the Blues Brothers, firmly established themselves in the wacky lore of the Midnight Sun Run's costume division, finishing tied for second overall with a time of 32:50. In 1988, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is a morning daily newspaper that serves the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Denali Borough, and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the United States state of Alaska. It is the farthest north daily newspaper in the United States, and...
Midnight Sun Run was born, as the newspaper became the event's title sponsor. With around 2,200 participants, the run had firmly established its current reputation as one of the premier running events in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
In conjunction with the race, The first Midnight Sun Run Runner's Expo was staged in 2000, and featured former Olympian and renowned running guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
and author Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway is a former American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running....
, who conducted a seminar before a standing room only crowd at the UAF Patty Center. He talked about his experiences as a runner in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and answered a variety of questions on nutrition, injuries, training methods, marathon running, and spoke at length about his widely successful and influential marathon training strategies.
In 2006, some fifty United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldiers, members of the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery with the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Wainwright
Fort Wainwright
Fort Wainwright is a United States Army post adjacent to Fairbanks in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Fairbanks, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, would not let their deployment in the Iraq War prevent them from participating in the Midnight Sun Run. They held their own 10 kilometer event in northern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
where they are part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a press release, 1st Sgt. Antonio Boone said it was "Quite a bit different than the last couple times I have run it. There was no forest fire smoke, no costumes and no one cheering." The soldiers wore official Midnight Sun Run bibs bearing the number 411, and received T-shirts donated and shipped from Fairbanks by race organizers. "Keeps getting easier every time I run it", said Sgt. Chad McFall, who helped push and pull a 2,300-pound howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
along the 10 K course in the 2004 and 2005 Midnight Sun Runs in Fairbanks, "[T]his year there was no howitzer. It made running the race a snap."
Top ten fastest finishing times
| Men's division | time | year | Women's division | time | year |
| 1. Tom Ratcliffe | 29:14 | 1984 | 1. Kellie Cathey | 33:57 | 1987 |
| 2. Ron Gilooly | 29:19 | 1984 | 2. Nancy Ditz | 34:03 | 1987 |
| 3. Ron Gilooly | 29:48 | 1985 | 3. Nancy Ditz | 34:23 | 1986 |
| 4. Jed Hopfenserger | 30:10 | 1988 | 4. Leslie Lewis | 34:50 | 1989 |
| 5. Pat Cross | 30:14 | 1984 | 5. Pam Clifford | 35:24 | 1988 |
| 6. Benji Durden | 30:16 | 1986 | 6. Mara Rabinowitz | 35:49 | 1984 |
| 7. Pete Pfitzinger | 30:20 | 1986 | 7. Susan Faulkner | 36:57 | 2002 |
| 7. Rick Wilhelm | 30:20 | 1992 | 8. Heather Hunt | 37:04 | 1998 |
| 9. Andy Ferguson | 30:29 | 1988 | 9. Lisa Keller | 37:20 | 1993 |
| 10. Kris Mueller | 30:47 | 1988 | 10. Lisa Keller | 37:37 | 1995 |
Collateral contests
Beginning in 1984, costumeCostume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s have been a central theme for the Midnight Sun Run, and awards are given to the best coifed entrants. The costumed division is perhaps one of the most anticipated aspects of the race. Race director Mike Styles said the idea of the costumed division was to create a Fairbanks version of San Francisco's Bay to Breakers
Bay to Breakers
The Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May. The name reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero and runs west through the city to finish at the Great...
race.
Each year a Couch Potato Award is given to the best cheering section.
External links
- MidnightSunRun.us - Midnight Sun Run homepage
- MidnightSunRun.us - 'Midnight Sun Run: History of the Race'
- News-Miner.com - 'Soldiers hold own Midnight Sun Run', Fairbanks Daily News-MinerFairbanks Daily News-MinerThe Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is a morning daily newspaper that serves the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Denali Borough, and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the United States state of Alaska. It is the farthest north daily newspaper in the United States, and...
(June 20, 2006) - News-Miner.com - 'Run takes on a global flavor', Margaret Friedenau, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (June 18, 2006)
Photos
- JNAdleman.net - 'Midnight Sun Run 2004'
- PTIAlaska.net - 'Midnight Sun Run 1997: photos by Julie Coghill'