Prince of Wales Island International Marathon

Prince Of Wales Island totally gets behind this weekend. I've run 226 marathons and these folks may have the strongest support I've seen for an event. It's a little hilly, so get over it. It could sprinkle on you, get over it. But the bling is great, the aide stations are each unique and fun-themed, everyone is supporting you. Start on the high school, so you get to stay warm till gun time. It's a little trickier getting here than most marathons: Fly into Ketchikan. 3 hour ferry ride to Hollis on POW. It sails ONCE a day. So plan your flights accordingly. Pretty speedy to take your car on the ferry, so we did walk-on. Then called ahead and the Tribal Bus-took us the 31 miles to Craig Alaska. Great driver who gave us a good tour and history. We had 15 Bald Eagles flying around our deck on Sunday after a charter boat dumped its fish carcasses. WOW!!! You will really feel like you experienced Alaska after this run. BTW, the airport is on an island off Ketchikan, so it's a ferry ride to get "to the mainland". That was pretty cool. And DO NOT miss the awards ceremony.

This was our 50th state to finish up our quest to run a marathon in all fifty states. Wow!! What a great experience. This was my 65th marathon and I have never seen an area get behind a race like this. The day before the run at packet pick up there were snacks, nice t shirt and super friendly people. The town of Craig is a very scenic fishing village. Bald eagles every where! The course is an out an back and is very hilly. If you are a 50 stater you have run tougher courses than this. The medals are nice and the grilled salmon sandwiches for post race were outstanding.The awards banquet in the evening is a 'do not miss event'. It seems most of the town folk show up for this, great door prizes!! I know most 50 stater's do other Alaska marathons but they're missing a real gem in this one. Sure, getting to Craig is a bit of a challenge but you won't be disappointed.

I've been running since I was 17 but I've never run a marathon before, so I have nothing to compare it to. I had a great time. Everyone was helpful and friendly. I ran the first leg. The hills were harder than I expected. The volunteers were supportive and outstanding. They were stationed about every 2 miles. I will definitely run the course again.