Running Club North and Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc., sponsor a summer running competition known as the Usibelli Running Series (URS) with adult and youth divisions. There is no cost to participate in the series, although most of the individual events have a registration fee. Any participant who completes any event of the series will be automatically entered into the competition, with the exception of the “Finished All” standings. Rankings and finishers will be updated after each event.

History

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 with the Borough Mayor presenting 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 continued under the sponsorship of the new owners until 2014. In need of a new sponsor, Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. graciously stepped forward in 2015 to take over sponsorship of the series.

The Adult Division

This division consists of seven events: Chena River Run (5K), Midnight Sun Run (10K), Jim Loftus Mile (1 mile), Gold Discovery Run (16.5 miles), Santa Claus Half Marathon (13.1 miles), Golden Heart Trail Run (5K), and the Equinox Marathon (26.2 miles).

Participants do not have to participate in all seven events to qualify for the Overall and Age Class points. Points are calculated and awarded based on the events that are completed. Any participant who registers as a runner for the Equinox Marathon may earn points for the URS, as long as they complete the marathon in ten hours or less. The policy for earning Usibelli points for the Equinox Marathon Hiker Division is explained below.

Participants must complete all seven events to qualify for the “Finished All” standings at the end of the season. The Equinox Marathon Hiker Division finishers will be included in this category.

The Youth Division

This division consists of four events: Chena River Run, Midnight Sun Run, Jim Loftus Mile, and Golden Heart Trail Run.

Participants in this division must participate in at least two of the four events to qualify for the series.

Participants must complete all four events to qualify for the “Finished All” standings at the end of the season.

Rankings

Women’s Rankings by Class and Men’s Rankings by Class include the Youth Division Age Groups.

Series Rankings by Sex do not include a separate ranking for the Youth Division.

• Participants in the series are classified by their ages as of May 1st and will remain in that age class for the duration of the series. * Note that if a participant has a birthday during the course of the series, then for any given event, they could compete in one age class for the event standings (determined by their age on race day) and a different age class for the Usibelli Running Series (determined by their age as of May 1st). For example: I am 54 years old as of May 1st, so after the Chena River Run I will be in the 50-54 Age Class for the duration of the Usibelli Running Series. On June 1st, I turn 55. For any individual events I participate in after that date, my name may be in the 55-59 Age Class for published event results; however, my name will remain in the 50-54 Age Class for the series results.
• Points are awarded for each event, to both male and female participants in each age class and in an overall category. The top 50 finishers in the Overall Men and Overall Women categories for each event will be awarded points, and the top 20 finishers in each of the age classes will be awarded points for each event.
• Series point totals are calculated based on a participant’s finish position in their age class and overall for each event entered.
• The final rankings and finishers will be published within 72 hours of the final event, the Equinox Marathon.
• Awards for the series participants are given to the top five Overall Men and top five Overall Women. Medals are given to the top three series participants in each age class. Participants who complete all seven series events earn a commemorative shirt. Recognition of these individuals is made at the RCN Social and Awards Banquet held in October.

Information on Age Classes and on how Age Class Points and Overall Points are determined is described in the charts on this page.

Rules for Adult and Youth Divisions

In order to be eligible for Overall and Age Class points and “Finished All” standings in the URS Adult and Youth Divisions, the following rules apply:

1. Participation must be on the date the event is calendared. Participants cannot request a make-up day for an event in order to be included in points and standings.
2. If the race director reschedules an event in the URS due to weather or some other unforeseen circumstance, the new event date is used for points and standings.
3. If a URS event is cancelled altogether for any reason, points and standings will be awarded based on the remaining events.
4. Participants in the URS must complete the entirety of any events under their own power.

Equinox Marathon Hiker Division

Participants who registered in this division for the marathon as completing it in under seven hours will be listed in the results with the runners, and they will be ranked in the Usibelli classes with the runners and will earn points if in the top 20 in their class.

Participants who registered in this division for the marathon as completing it in over seven hours will be listed in separate results with their finish time; however, they will not be ranked in the Usibelli classes nor receive points.

Results