Alaska

Order in which state was run: 33

Order in which state was admitted into the union: 49

Alaska adopted the flag for official state use in 1959. The blue field represents the sky, the sea, and mountain lakes, as well as Alaska's wildflowers. Emblazoned on the flag are eight gold stars: seven in the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper. The eighth being the North Star, representing the northern most state.

 

Date: June 25, 2008
Race: Great Alaskan Maritime Marathon
City: Juneau
Cost:
Race Report

Ever since watching Love Boat in the 70s I wanted to go on a cruise.  I'm not much of a beach person so an Alaskan cruise in particular appealed to me.  Fast forward to my state chasing and a cruise that included running at ports of call apealed to me so I picked this race for my Alaska half marathon.

Racing was fun and meeting other runners was fun as well.  This may be my only cruise (I enjoy doing my own thing on my own schedule) but it was a fun experience.


 

 

Date: June 18, 2011
Race: Mayor's Half Marathon
City: Anchorage
Cost: $43.60
Race Report

Part of my adventures in running the 50 states is visiting National Parks nearby.  The Alaskan cruise I took in 2008 cruised Glacier Bay National Park.  I decided to return to Alaska to visit a couple more of the many parks located in Alaska.  Since I was traveling that far I figured I may as well throw in another half marathon as well.  I ran a half in Anchorage and then spent a week in Alaska visiting Kenai Fjords and Denali National Parks.

Anchorage was a fun place to visit in June.  They had a summer solstice festival going on when I arrived; sunlight was out most of the 24 hour day that time of year.  I was living in Texas at the time and got a kick out of the Alaska-Texas shirts (which I'd never seen before).

Up next: Illinois