Spring Tide Scramble Race Returns

Runners sludge across Gastineau Channel toward the Mendenhall Wetlands Dike Trail during a previous Spring Tide Scramble race. The event is being held on Sunday for the first time since 2019. (Klas Stolpe/KINY)

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The gnarly, nasty, muddy and fun Spring Tide Scramble will be run for the first time since 2019 this weekend.

  The race features two courses, with the start time for both at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Both courses start and end at the Fish Creek parking lot, just past 8 mile on North Douglas Highway.

  The first option is the mud course. It is in the range of 3-4 miles and takes racers across the wetlands and Gastineau Channel to a marking on the end of the Airport Dike Trail. From there, they will head back, across the wetlands to the Fish Creek starting point. Children under 13 must stay with an adult the entire time, and the course is not appropriate for small children.

  The second option is a mountain and mud course. This race is for runners 19 and older only. The approximately 7-mile run starts and finishes at the Fish Creek bridge parking lot. Runners will follow the Fish Creek Trail under the bridge and up the trail to its end at the Fish Creek bridge on Fish Creek, or Eaglecrest, Road. Runners will continue down the road to the North Douglas Highway junction and a course monitor will advise them of traffic and point the direction to the wetlands entrance.Runners will race the tide, across the wetlands to the end of the Dike Trail and back to the Fish Creek parking lot. If runners do not think they can finish the course in about two hours, given the tide predictions, they should do the shorter course instead.

  Carpooling is encouraged, given limited parking space.

  Early online registration is open through Friday evening, and there will be registration the morning of the race, starting at 7:30 a.m.

  Runners should expect variable terrain and be prepared for areas of water crossings of variable depths, depending on the time they are on the course. Runners should expect to get wet and dirty and are encouraged to bring a towel or dry clothes to change into afterward.

  The race director is Holly Handler. More information about the race can be found on the Juneau Trail and Road Runners website or on the Spring Tide Scramble Facebook page.

https://www.southeastroadrunners.org

https://www.raceentry.com/races/spring-tide-scramble/2022/register

Above/Below - Runners sludge across Gastineau Channel toward the Mendenhall Wetlands Dike Trail during a previous Spring Tide Scramble race. The event is being held on Sunday for the first time since 2019. (Klas Stolpe/KINY)