Three days before Kotzebue's first official marathon, race organizer Hannah Atkinson needed to check the water level at the Sadie Creek crossing. Last month was Kotzebue's rainiest August on record.
After a bumpy, 20-minute ride on four-wheelers along the shoreline, Atkinson found waist-deep, frigid water at the creek — a major challenge for marathon runners. At first Atkinson proposed leaving a pair of hipwaders the runners could take turns with. In the end, volunteers brought a kayak out to the creek.
Around the world, there are only a handful of marathons held this far north. They tend to be big, expensive, international destination events. The inaugural Cape Blossom Marathon and Half on Aug. 24 drew 17 participants, all from Alaska.
Kotzebue doesn't have enough miles of road for a full marathon, so some of the course runs along the beach. On race day, organizers ferried marathon runners by boat to the start at Cape Blossom – the future site of a proposed deepwater port – about 13 miles from Kotzebue.
Atkinson said it was a calm, sunny day, and some runners took deliberate detours to enjoy the scenery.
"They got to the top of the hill, they said, 'No, we're not done yet,' and they kept running," she said. "They were just really enjoying the day and getting a good run in."
Atkinson said one benefit of the marathon was how residents and visitors could engage with Kotzebue's changing coastlines. Along the course, she said she saw debris from structures destroyed in last October's storms and newly exposed soil where the shoreline had slumped into Kotzebue Sound.
"It's bringing people into how we interact with the landscape that is changing a lot as a coastal community and due to climate change," she said.
Atkinson said one of her favorite aspects of the race was the camaraderie among the participants — and also the puppies.
"One of our volunteers brought puppies to the Sadie Creek crossing, and that was enjoyed by all the marathon runners," Atkinson said. "Then the puppy showed up later in the evening to comfort the runners as they were icing their legs in Kotzebue Sound."
The puppies were from a local sled dog kennel and mushers Sam and Jazmine Camp brought them out for socializing during the race. Anchorage-based journalist Nat Herz got puppy time and swam in the sound after finishing the half marathon.
"Good luck finding fresh-caught chum salmon at the Boston Marathon," he wrote in the Northern Journal.
Pieter Jung of Kotzebue won the marathon, with a time of four hours and 22 minutes. Ben Marcus, also from Kotzebue, won the half marathon finishing at one hour and 36 minutes.
Atkinson said the City of Kotzebue and race organizers hope to make the marathon an annual event.
Copyright 2025 KOTZ