In-Person Race Day Details for June 6, 2026

Distances

• 5-mile timed & untimed
• 1-mile untimed
• Start/finish: UAA Campus near Cuddy Quad 3400 Seawolf Dr. Anchorage 99508

Rules of the Road for All Participants

1. 1. Course marshals have the authority to remove any participant in violation of the rules of the event.
   2. Race bibs must be worn on the front and be clearly visible at all times on the course.
   3. All participants must follow the measured, designated course.
   4. All participants must cross the finish line at the arch near Cuddy Quad at UAA.
   5. Do not short cut through parking lots, alleys or grass areas along the bike trail or you will be disqualified.
   6. No roller blades, skates, scooters, wagons, bicycles or pets are permitted on the course.
   7. NO RUNNING WITH STROLLERS OR BABY JOGGERS! This is a requirement of our liability insurance policy.

Event Schedule

• 6:45-9:00 a.m. Bib Pick-Up; Registration for untimed events only; Merchandise sales
• 7:30 a.m. Yoga Warm-up with Melissa Becker, Black Dog Yoga
• 7:55 a.m. Survivor group photo under start line arch
• 8:00 a.m. Staging all events
• 8:20 a.m. National Anthem
• 8:25 a.m. Honorary Starter
• 8:30 a.m. 1-mile untimed run/walk start and strollers
• 8:45 a.m. 5-mile run/walk timed start
• 9:05 a.m. 5-mile run/walk untimed party start and strollers
• 10:15 a.m. Zumba workout with Suzy Spackman
• 11:00 a.m. Awards Ceremony begins!
• 11:30 ish Door Prize Drawings (must be present to win) and Annual RFW Raffle Drawing (you DO NOT need to be present to win)

Race Day Festivities/Door Prizes

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, 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 two lucky Run participants! Enter the drawing to win two round trip tickets on Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines (North/Central American and Hawaii) or a 90-Day Gold Family Membership to 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. 

Wave Starts & Staging

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 the start area 30 minutes prior to event start time. Participant bib colors will match start times as shown on the map. Look for the colored flags in your start area.

• 8:00 a.m. Staging all events
• 8:30 a.m. 1-mile run/walk start | Start area at 8:10 a.m.
• 8:45 a.m. 5-mile TIMED run/walk start | Start area at 8:15 a.m.
• 9:05 a.m. 5-mile UNTIMED party run/walk start | Start area at 8:35 a.m.

Elite Corral

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 following the 1-mile participants 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.

Entertainment on Race Day

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

• Yoga warm-up, Melissa Becker, Black Dog Yoga in Cuddy Quad!
• National Anthem, Hannah Klemm

ON THE COURSE 

• Pepper Kit
• JazzMom Melissa Fischer
• Rick Zelinsky Jazz
• Last Frontier Pipes & Drums
• Tomodachi Daiko Drummers
• The Empty Nesters: Jim Kerr, Denise Martin, Carole Ann & Jim Wolfe
• Alaska City Quartet
• Bayou Glacier
• Alaska Fiddler – Adam Stewart

ON THE CUDDY QUAD  

• April Powers in the announcer’s booth!
• Alaska Career College Massage Therapy Student Sports Team
• Suzy Spackman, The Alaska Club – Zumba workout
• Be sure you visit all the booths hosted by our donors and grantees!

2026 Honorary Race Starter

Betty Predeger

Join us in welcoming the Honorary Starter of the 2026 Alaska Run for Women. Betty Predeger has a long and valued history with the AKRFW. She was a Board member from 1996 until 2024 serving in positions including secretary, president and chair of the grants committee. She said her connection began even earlier when she was awarded an AKRFW grant in 1994 to initiate and study the nexus of art and healing in women with breast cancer. As the basis for her PhD dissertation research, the findings uncovered universal themes about the importance of women’s connection to one another in healing through art.

Regarding her leadership role on the grants committee, Betty said, “Being a part of that remarkable committee working as stewards of all donor dollars raised through the race, in reviewing, prioritizing and funding programs that directly impact women with breast cancer, has been a true honor and a privilege. As a long-term Board member, I was able to see the impact that raising funds for breast cancer research, education, and awareness through the annual Run has made in our community and State.”

Betty is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Initially diagnosed in 1996, she chose a more conservative treatment and then 13 years later in 2009, she chose a more aggressive approach. She has been cancer free ever since. Thirty years since her first diagnosis and she says that “life goes on.”

In 2017, Betty retired from the University of Alaska, Anchorage as Professor Emerita in Nursing after nearly 30 years of teaching. Immediately upon arriving in Anchorage during the “exciting mid-1970s” she worked as an ER nurse at Providence which she described as “memorable days indeed!”

Calling herself blissfully retired, Betty is lucky to have all family members and growing grandchildren in Anchorage who are a source of ongoing adventure and delight. She also has an adorable 4-year-old Labradoodle, Arlo, who is always up for a hike or any outdoor adventure, and definitely keeps her moving.

Betty says, “Over time, we have begun to travel to warmer climates during some of Alaska’s colder months. This has provided numerous opportunities in joining new groups, and making new friends. Watercolor, quilting and Mahjong are some of my current challenges and obsessions. Home in Alaska, hiking, biking, and pack rafting are always on the docket when the weather allows.” She also enjoys live music and theatre, and says volunteer hours are now spent supporting local theatre in Anchorage’s Ushering in the Arts program.

When asked if she had any words of wisdom or encouragement for our participants, she said, “Give your support to those going through cancer. They will never forget how you make them feel.”

To women living with breast cancer, Betty offered:

“There is LIFE through and after cancer. Continue to live it. I have run, and walked many AKRFW races over the years. I plan to continue. I love the spirit and mission of Alaska Run for Women. Carpe diem!”