June 82024
Days to Race345
June 82024
Days to Race345
Join the festivities with family and friends before and after the race! Yoga warm-up, free Kaladi coffee, free snow-cones at Murray Orthodontics tent, photo booth at Imaging Associates tent, The Alaska Club’s obstacle course, refreshments post-race including Great Harvest Bread Company, Zumba workout, and the awards ceremony honoring elite runners and breast cancer survivor competitors.
Special door prizes will be given to lucky Run participants! Enter the drawing to win a free trip for two to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies or a 90-Day Gold Family Membership from The Alaska Club! Your bib has a tear away section with your bib number on it. Write in your name and drop it in the entry box near the sound stage. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN. Drawing following the Awards Ceremony.
All participants will be staged based on the race category for which they have registered. Staging will begin at 8:00 a.m. for all events.
It is each participant’s responsibility to be in her start corral 30 minutes prior to event start time. Participant bib colors will match the start corral colors as shown on the map. Look for the colored flags in your start area.
An elite corral is reserved for runners who completed a previous Alaska Run for Women in 35:35 or better (pace 7:07/mile). Runners with elite status will enter the starting area via the 1-mile corral and be escorted to the starting line after the 1-mile race is underway. Runners who have not participated in the AKRFW may email run@akrfw.org with documented race results to petition for access to the elite corral.
A big thank you to all the wonderful volunteer entertainers who add fun out on the course and on the UAA Campus at Cuddy Quad.
If you are interested in providing entertainment on the course, email run@akrfw.org
PRERACE
ON THE COURSE
ON THE CUDDY QUAD
We are very pleased to have Dr. Gower as a 2023 honorary starter. It is an understatement to say he played an important role in the creation and ultimate success of the Alaska Run for Women. In 1993 he worked closely with founding race director, Terri Pauls, to organize our first race. He was responsible for raising the seed money to start the event, as well as suggesting that proceeds benefit women’s health issues, specifically breast cancer.
After the inaugural event, Roland was a founding member of the newly organized volunteer board of directors, and he served as president for the first 5 years. He was instrumental in fundraising and helping to get the medical community involved as donors.
From 1975 until his retirement in 2018, Roland was a well known and highly respected breast surgeon practicing in Anchorage. Many of our participants credited him for being a guiding light through their breast cancer journeys. His own mother died of breast cancer after a 10-year battle, and he remains committed to the cause.
In his “spare” time, Roland enjoys upland bird hunting along with his Brittnany pups, spending time with his grandkids, skiing, hiking and fishing.
Join us in welcoming our second 2023 honorary starter. Carol Butler began a 30-year career in real estate in 1977 and quickly became an industry leader. Out of 21,000 agents throughout the United States and Japan, she was the #1 agent for 3 out of the 5 years she worked for Century 21. In 1982, she moved to Re/Max Properties, Inc. where she continued to excel leading her team to be the #1 producer in the state and in the top 1% of agents nationwide.
While demands of her rapid pace business life were extreme, Carol always found time to help others in the industry as a mentor to new agents and a resource for fellow realtors. A tireless volunteer within the community, Carol has served on the board of directors for both statewide and national organizations too numerous to mention. These include Casting for Recovery, and Anchorage Waldorf School, as well as co-chairing the 2010 Rotary District Conference for 385 attendees from Russia, Alaska and Canada.
Her fundraising skills are legendary including efforts for Beans Cafe, Anchorage Concert Association Oscar Night Gala, the Statewide Suicide Prevention Project, and the Duct Tape Ball among others. In 2014, she was named as one of 10 “Rotary Women of Action” nationwide out of more than 3,000 nominees and honored at the White House for her work organizing the 2013-2014 Alaska Mission of Mercy. The event brought 1,358 local volunteers including 258 dentists from across the nation to provide free dental care at a two-day event to serve 1,600 residents from all over Alaska who are otherwise unable to receive treatment.
We are very pleased to introduce April Powers, our third 2023 honorary starter. Her involvement with the Alaska Run for Women goes back many years when she was a race participant. She said, “The Party Wave are my people!” She has always loved the mission and spirit of the Run for Women, as well as the female camaraderie and celebration of breast cancer survivors. In 2008 April was diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer, and the Run’s mission became much more personal. She credits an early diagnosis and excellent care for keeping her cancer free these past 15 years.
Soon after her diagnosis, April began doing announcements at the Run. As a long-time morning show co-host with radio station Magic 98.9 (a years-long donor and supporter of the Run) her voice was recognizable to many race participants. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and runners loved hearing her announce their names as they crossed the finish line. Because of her new role on race day, she was no longer participating on the course and jokes, “I guess you could say I started running my mouth instead of the course! I love cheering for survivors, teams and every race participant.”
April said the Alaska Run for Women holds a special place in her heart, and she clearly holds a special place in ours. When mentioning the old adage, “find your tribe,” she says, “Well, the AKRFW is your tribe! And as a member of that tribe, I look forward to cheering you on again this year!”