Anchorage Mayor's Marathon 2014: Route, Course Map, Times, Event Details

On June 21, The Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, will take place.

The event is organized by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and Anchorage Parks & Recreation, and it includes five races.

Here's a list of the races and the distance of each: marathon (26.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), marathon relay (4 x 6.5-mile legs), four-miler and Youth Cup (1.6 miles), per Running in the USA. All of the races will take place simultaneously.

As an extra incentive, cash prizes are awarded to anyone who breaks the course record in the men or women's marathon and half marathon, per Anchorage.net.

Last year, David Kiplagat won on the men's side. Kiplagat is a former University of Alaska Anchorage All-American. His time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 22 seconds was just 53 seconds shy of the course record set by Michael Wisniewski in 2009.

The record was clearly a goal for Kiplagat. Kiplagat talked about barely missing the mark after last year's race, per Beth Bragg of Anchorage Daily News:

"I've been trying to get this record. This is my fourth time. I had hoped I would get it, but maybe another time."

At this time, the participant list hasn't been released. Perhaps Kiplagat will see if the fifth time is the charm.

On the women's side, Anna Dalton won with a time of 3:09:00. Click here to see a list of winners from previous years.

Here are the race times for each event:

• Marathon and Relay: 8 a.m.
  
• Half: 9 a.m.
  
• Four-Miler: 9:15 a.m.
  
• Youth Cup 9:30 a.m.
  

The Course

Mark Thiessen/Associated Press

Beginning in the Chugach Mountains, marathoners will continue on the course through to Cook Inlet on the west. 

Patrick Endres/Associated Press

Because the course is certified by USA Track and Field, participants can use it as a means to qualify for the Boston Marathon. You can view the entire course map here.

There will be a slight detour due to the collapse of the Westchester Lagoon Bridge, but per Anchorage Daily News, it won't affect the race's certification.

Weather

Andrew Mooney of Boston.com says: 

"Temperature and wind have the greatest effect on runners, but precipitation also makes a difference."

Going by Mooney's logic, Saturday should be a great day for marathoners. Per Weather.com, the high will be a mild 62 degrees and the winds will be moderate at seven miles per hour out of the south west.

Perhaps this will be the day one of those course records fall.