A NEW CHALLENGE

WILLOW — Alaska is home to a few of the more unique races folks will run across.

There are the standard races on paved road, the 5-kilometers and the marathons. And then there are the rigorous mountain races like the Crow Pass Crossing — which covers 26 miles worth of rugged terrain — or the Matanuska Peak Challenge — which boasts 14 miles and 9,100 feet of elevational gain.

Now there’s a new race to add to the runner’s calendar, one that expects to offer a bit more of a challenge than the standard paved road marathon, but shouldn’t quite scare people away like Crow Pass or Mat Peak.

The Willow Running Club will introduce the Hatcher Pass Marathon Saturday morning.

“This is a happy medium,” said David Johnston, a Willow resident and avid marathon runner.

The race — which will lead participants 26.2 miles from the Shirley Town Bridge on Willow Fishhook Road to Independence Mine atop Hatcher Pass — is the brainchild of a pair of Willow Running Club faithful, Andrea Hambach and Yvonne Leutwyler. The duo founded the Willow Running Club to provide opportunities for runners on the north end of the Valley. The Willow Race Series, a collection of events hosted in the area, followed.

“We got tired of driving into Anchorage for races,” Hambach said.

With the same logic, the marathon was born. The Valley has not been home to a 26-miler in many, many years. So the club thought, why not the Valley? Why not Willow?

Last summer, the club put together a trail marking out a 26.2-mile path up Willow Fishhook from the Shirley Town Bridge. The club conned Johnston — who has competed in marathons and ultramarthons across the country — into running the route.

“I was their test dummy,” Johnston joked.

Johnston — whose running resume includes a list ranging from the Boston Marathon to the Susitna 100 — gave the course, which features 26 miles of steady gain, rave reviews.

“It’s great,” Johnston said. “I think the unique part is it is Hatcher Pass. It’s really pretty. Most of it is right along Willow Creek.”

Only a few miles of the course is paved, the section immediately past the bridge. Johnston said the first seven miles feature a good incline and then the road levels out into a gradual climb. At Mile 20, as the road ascends to Summit Lake, it gets really steep, Johnston said.

In the final mile or so, runners will lose about 1,200 feet of gain.

“The last mile is straight down,” Johnston said.

The finish line will be just above Independence Mine. Hambach said those interested in watching the finish can access the end of the race on the Palmer side of Hatcher Pass via Palmer Fishhook. But a goal of the race is to expose more people to the beauty of the Willow side of the pass.

“It’s a pretty historic area of the Valley and an area people don’t usually see,” Hambach said.

The response has been stellar, she said. Originally, organizers had hoped for maybe 40 runners in the inaugural race. As of Thursday, 61 had signed up and those interested can still register Saturday morning in Willow.

There is also a relay division for those not interested in making the full 26.2-mile trek. She also expects the field to include some of Alaska’s most well-known runners. Hambach also hopes the Hatcher Pass Marathon can welcome a new generation of runners.

“Hopefully we can attract a variety of runners,” Hambach said. “We certainly don’t want to make it an elite event only. We want people of all abilities. We want to make it welcoming for all kinds of groups. People who don’t like pavement like us, but it’s also reasonable for people who might not like tripping over roots for 26 miles. It’s a great opportunity for people to enter a marathon.”

The race is slated for Saturday morning at the Shirley Town Bridge, located about Mile 6 of Willow Fishhook Road. For more information, visit willowraceseries.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.