Flint Hills Series
Running Club North and Flint Hills Resources sponsor a summer running competition known as the Flint Hills Series and the Flint Hills Youth Series. The Flint Hills Race Series consists of eight events and the Flint Hills Race Youth Series consists of five events: the shortest of the eight events.
Concept
There is no cost to participate in the series. A runner who completes 1 or more of these 8 events will automatically be entered in the competition. Points are awarded for each event, to both male and female runners, in each of six age divisions and in an overall category. In addition, runners who participate in all eight events earn a commemorative t-shirt. Series point totals are calculated using a runner finishes from each event entered. Prizes are awarded to the top three finishers in each of the age division and to the top five finishers in the overall categories.
A runner's age on May 1 determines which age division that runner will participate in for that season and accumulation of points for that age division for the Series. Points are awarded and age divisions are established as shown in the tables below. Points are awarded to the top 50 finishers in the Overall Categories (Male and Female) for each event, and to the top 20 finishers in each of the Age Divisions. Starting in 2006, the Flint Hills Series has been subdivided into the traditional eight event Flint Hills Cup Series for ages 18 and above, and the five event Flint Hills Youth Series, which will feature age brackets of 10-11, 12-14 and 15-17.
For the Flint Hills Cup Series, the five highest Male and Female scorers Overall, and the three highest scorers in each Age Division will receive awards, and for the Flint Hills Youth Series, the three highest scorers in each Age Division will receive awards. Awards will be presented at the Flint Hills Awards Potluck, usually held on the third Saturday in October - check the Event Calendar for the exact date, time and location.
NO FEE! IT'S FREE! By running in just one race in the series, you will be automatically entered into the points system. Those runners who participate in all eight races of the series will earn a commemerative T-Shirt.
The Series
Our Flint Hills Series season starts in May with a fast spring 5K, the Chena River Run, and concludes in late September with our Equinox Marathon. This latter race, now more than 50 years old, is one we proudly bill as one of America's toughest marathons because of it's approximately 4,000 feet of elevation gain (and loss). The marathon is held on the weekend in September closest to the autumnal equinox.
The other races in our series include Fairbanks largest race, the Midnight Sun Run 10K, run at 10:00 PM on the Saturday night in June closest to our longest day, the summer solstice; the Flint Hills Santa Claus Half-Marathon, from the refinery in North Pole; the Gold Discovery Run, held on the Sunday in late July that falls at the end of Fairbanks' annual Golden Day's celebration - commemorating Felix Pedro's discovery of gold more than 100 years ago, starts from near Cleary Summit and finishes at the Silver Gulch Brewery on the Steese Highway in Fox; and the Run of the Valkyries 8K , held in August. The shortest race in the series is the Flint Hills Mile. This event is held on a high school track.
An awards banquet is held in mid-October to honor the top five overall finishers in the Flint Hills Series, and the top three finishers in each age group. The banquet is usually held on the third Saturday of October - check the Event Calendar for the exact date, time and location.
Points are awarded to the top 50 overall finishers (male and female) in each event, and to the top 20 finishers (male and female) in each age group. Runners who complete all eight events receive a commemorative t-shirt. A complete description of the rules, entry procedures and the details of the point system are shown on the Flint Hills Series Qualifications & Procedures page.
History of the Flint Hills Series
Over the years, runners in Interior Alaska have competed in a series of summer running events. In its earliest days, the series was known as the Mayor's Cup, under the sponsorship of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; the Borough Mayor presented the awards at the end of the season. The series originally consisted of five events. From 1986 through 2003, Williams Petroleum, and its predecessor MAPCO Alaska Petroleum, Inc., sponsored the series. During those years, the series expanded from five to seven events, with the addition of the Mile Run and the Santa Claus Half-Marathon. These seven races challenged runners over a wide variety of distances, in events held from May through September. With the sale of the North Pole refinery completed in April, 2004 to Flint Hills Resources, the summer running series continues under the sponsorship of the new owners.
Past Results
| 2010 | By Class | Overall | Finished All |
| 2009 | By Class | Overall | Finished All |
| 2008 | By Class | Overall | Finished All |
