2024 Details  

Registration

The Full Traverse is capped at 50 entrants; the Half Traverse is capped at 50 entrants. Registration is FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED.

• Registration opens at 9 a.m. AKDT on Saturday, June 1.
  Please do not register without a qualifier. Those who register without an approved qualifier or permission from the race director will be moved from the roster to the waitlist. To register, CLICK HERE  
• No refunds or deferrals will be given.
• Full-race Volunteers and 2023 champions will receive an invitation to pre-register in advance of June 1. These registrations are complimentary. 
• NOTE: In 2022, registration reached CAPACITY in 3 hours for the Full Traverse and in 6 hours for the Half Traverse in 6 hours. WAITLISTS then opened for each event.
• There is no charge to join the WAITLIST. Those who receive an invitation will have 24 hours to accept or decline and runners who accept will have their credit cards charged. 
• There is hope for Waitlisters even far down the list! Typically we burn through the entire waitlist, though an invitation may not come until shortly before race day.
• Those who register but are unable to participate are asked to notify the race director so that the next person on the waitlist can be invited. 

Entry Requirement

FULL TRAVERSE — Entrants must have completed a technical trail race of 15+ miles since 2021 at a pace within the Kesugi race cutoff pace of 16 minutes per mile. Acceptable events include: Kesugi Ridge Traverse, Crow Pass Crossing, Resurrection Pass Trail, Lost Lake Run, Matanuska Peak Challenge, Granite Tors Trail Run, Girdwood Trail Marathon, Angel Creek 50, Juneau Ridge Run, Juneau’s Nifty 50 or a comparable race.
Training runs of 20+ miles on these or other courses of “technical trail” may be submitted to the race director for approval as a qualifier.
Our definition of technical trail is a route that for its majority includes rocks, roots and other obstacles and an average 100 feet of vertical gain per mile and average 100 feet of vertical descent per mile.

An 18-mile training run on the Turnagain Arm Trail (roundtrip between Potter and Windy Corner trailheads is 18.4 mies) in 4:45 or faster is an acceptable qualifier for the Full Traverse (and 15 miles on that trail is acceptable for the Half Traverse).

HALF TRAVERSE — Entrants must have completed 15 miles of one of the above trails since 2021, or 15 miles of a comparable race, at a pace within the Kesugi race cutoff pace of 16 minutes per mile. The terrain must be “technical trail” — defined as a route that for its majority includes rocks, roots and other obstacles and an average 100 feet of vertical gain per mile and average 100 feet of vertical descent per mile.

Uncertain whether you are qualified? Consult with race director Matias Saari. Proposed qualifiers that include considerable pavement, bike paths or have minimal elevation gain will be rejected.

Mandatory Gear

Participants for each race must wear or carry the following gear: Windbreaker, long-sleeved shirt, pants or tights, winter hat, gloves, sustenance and water bottle (or hydration device), and race bib. Arm sleeves, leg warmers or long socks cannot be substituted for the shirt or tights requirement. Gear must be adequate for the expected conditions on race day.

Age Requirement

Participants must be at least 18 years old on race day.

Time Cutoffs

The Full Traverse has a time cutoff of 4 hours, 5 minutes for the Ermine Hill Checkpoint. Any racer arriving thereafter must take the Ermine Hill Trail down to the Parks Highway (even if you’re one minute past the cutoff and were slowed by taking a bunch of pictures). A shuttle will then bring you to Byers Lake (or Little Coal Creek) from the Ermine Hill Trailhead.
To receive an official finish, Full Traverse racers must cross the finish line with 9 hours, 10 minutes.
To receive an official finish in the Half Traverse, racers must cross the finish line with 4 hours, 5 minutes.