Anchorage Mayor's Marathon 2012: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

With the 2012 Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon Saturday, June 23 in the beautiful state of Alaska, the excitement over one of the most unique races in the world has people from all over the planet trying their luck.

The USA Track and Field sanctioned race will kick off 8 a.m. local time and run throughout the day; with all finishers having to complete the race by 4:30 p.m.

Add a half marathon, the five-miler race and the annual Youth Cup, and Saturday’s action is something that has to be experienced at least once in lifetime.

As the races come to their conclusion throughout the day, we will have all the updates you could ever need. Don’t miss it!

UPDATE: Sunday, June 24, 8:45 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

With a wonderful turnout to the 2012 version of the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon, the excitement for the event was met by some of the best performances the course and event have ever seen.

For the main marathon, Matthew Adams won the overall race with a time 2:27:06 and claimed his stake as the best in the Alaska after becoming state high school cross country champion earlier in year as well.

Solomon Kandie finished in second place with a time of 2:32.11, while Kandie’s brother David Kiplagat finished third with a time of 2:45.46.

Massachusetts native Kate Hails won the race for the women, finishing with an impressive 2:59.55. As for the other top women finishers, Emma Bohman finished with a time of 3:03.29, while Jeanne-Clarie White came in third with a 3:04.45.

Both Adams and Bohman—the top finishing Alaska natives in the men’s and women’s classes respectively—win a pair of round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines. That’s a pretty sweet deal!

With another great race and experience in the books, congratulations have to go out to not only the runners that made it amazing, but the organizers that allowed it to go off as well as it did.

For full results from the Anchorage, Alaska’s Mayor’s Marathon and half-marathon, check the official website here!

----------End of Update----------

Full Course Map

The map is of the full marathon event and is 26.2 miles long. With a variety of surfaces that run through downtown Anchorage, this will be as unique a marathon as you will ever find. There will also be a relay marathon, which is another great way to get more people involved in the event.

As for the 13.1 half-marathon course, it begins and ends at West High School at the heart of the city.

The Youth Cup is a 1.7-mile course that is designed for children ages 7 to 14 years old and there is also the 5.61-mile five-miler race.

Combined, these races make up the annual event known as the Anchorage Mayor's Marathon.

Weather

While Alaska is not known for its perfect marathon weather, this Saturday couldn’t have been planned by Mother Nature herself any better. Weather.com is forecasting a beautiful sunny day that will get cloudy as the day progresses.

The temperatures in the mid-70s all day will help keep the runners in good spirits and the lack of rain on the Doppler means no worries for the race’s organizers.

As with all marathons, there is nothing better than having all the planets align and to get that perfect running weather.

Follow @Donald_Wood