Equinox Marathon

Founded in 1963, the Equinox Marathon is one of the oldest and most rugged marathons in the U.S. With most of the course on trails and a challenging climb up and over Ester Dome—and up and over it again! Our generous 10 hour time cutoff is great for walkers who can keep a steady pace. As the name suggests, the race takes place near the Equinox, in this case the autumnal equinox in the latter part

of September. This is the time when we near the end of our beautiful, green Fairbanks summers, as the leaves turn yellow and orange and lose their leaves, but (usually) before winter’s snows begin to fall. The entire community comes out to run, volunteer, and spectate in this big end of summer party. Course Info:
The course begins at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and primarily follows trails and dirt roads past the summit of Ester Dome (elevation 2323 ft.), then returns to the summit and drops to Henderson Rd. From there the course follows Henderson and Gold Hill Roads back to the university campus. In 2012 the course was modified slightly to include additional sections of trail and less road running. A new section of single-track trail was constructed from the base of Ester Dome Road ascending to the point where the old trail leaves the road.