Avoid athletic fields until marathon
September 9, 2014
UAF and Running Club North have asked everyone to avoid the athletic fields adjacent
to the Student Recreation Center to ensure the grass cover is healthy enough to survive
the crowd that will arrive for the 2014 Equinox Marathon on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Marathon participants traditionally start and finish on the field. In 2013, the start
and finish lines were moved elsewhere because much of the field had been excavated
for a utility upgrade. This past summer, UAF put up signs to prevent people from using
the field so the grass would recover well. Cool weather with record rainfall slowed
that recovery.
"The university has been working hard at getting the grass established on the field,
but it has been pretty difficult to accomplish that this summer," the running club
directors said in a Sept. 4 message to members. "If we all stay off the grass until
the race, it will be very helpful to the health of the field in the short term and
to the long term use of the field by the Equinox events as the start and finish areas."
About 960 people registered for the 2013 Equinox, including relay team members and
runners in a 40-mile ultra-marathon. In addition to participants, a crowd of fans also
gathers on the field.
This year's race will be the 52nd annual Equinox.