Volunteer signup has launched for the Equinox, with a wide variety of positions available – from bib pickup to course setup and teardown to grilling burgers and passing out patches!
Sign up at the site below – the Equinox wouldn’t be possible without volunteers like you!
https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/AK/Fairbanks/EquinoxMarathonAK
Registration for the 63rd Equinox Marathon and 33rd Equinox Relay will open at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21.
RunSignup will again serve as the registration site at https://runsignup.com/Race/Events/AK/Fairbanks/EquinoxMarathonAK
Marathon entry fees will rise by about $10 in 2026 to reflect the rising costs of hosting events, although relay costs are slated to stay virtually unchanged.
The entry fees are published on this website at the “Entering” drop-down page HERE. The listed rates do not include the 6-7 percent RunSignup registration charges.
There will also be new discounts implemented for juniors, university students and active military members. Those groups will all receive $25 off the marathon and marathon hike. If all three relay members are juniors, university students or military members, those groups will also receive a $75 discount for the relay.
In 2025, 856 individuals entered the marathon, marathon hike and relay divisions and organizers hope to exceed that total in 2026.
The Equinox is scheduled for Saturday, September 19.
Saari, 2nd from right, finishes the Equinox Marathon hike with friends.
March 10, 2026
Running Club North is pleased to appoint the team of Matias Saari and Tobias Albrigtsen as Equinox Marathon and Relay Race Director and Assistant Director.
Both are well-known in the Fairbanks running community and are experienced Equinox runners. Running Club North President Arthur Hussey said he is excited to make the appointment. Hussey is confident that the team will take the beloved Equinox to new levels, while retaining and building upon the excellence developed by previous Race Directors.
Saari, a 24-time Equinox participant including 19 marathon finishes and six outright wins, is the author of the book, The Equinox: Alaska’s Trailblazing Marathon. He’s also the current director of the Mount Marathon Race, Crow Pass Crossing and Kesugi Ridge Traverse.
Albrigtsen is a six-time Equinox participant and finished in the top 10 five times. A past race director of three races (Bun on the Run 5k, and Borealis Fun Run 5k in Fairbanks and the Billy Dutton uphill race in Tahoe, CA), Albrigtsen is a former marketing manager at Beaver Sports, a freelance photographer (Untraceable Global) and a previous coach at Lathrop High School, Fairbanks Cross Country Ski and UAF.
“It will be a privilege for Tobias and I to direct the Equinox, one of Alaska’s truly special sporting events,” Saari said. “We look forward to engaging with Running Club North, runners, volunteers, sponsors, contractors and others to put on the best event possible.”
Albrigtsen nears the Equinox finish line.
Saari was not a runner until coming to Fairbanks, where he lived from 1998-2010 before moving to the Anchorage Hillside.
“Personally, this is a come-full-circle moment: the Equinox was my first marathon in 1998 and that began an annual September ritual,” he said. “In addition to 19 Equinox marathons, I’ve also done the relay, the marathon hike and written a book about the Equinox’s fascinating history. Now it’s time to devote my Equinox energy to managing the race and I embrace that challenge.”
Saari and Albrigtsen begin their work on the 2026 Equinox immediately.
Matias Saari’s book, The Equinox: Alaska’s Trailblazing Marathon, is finally available!
He will be signing books at the following events:
– Friday, Sept. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Book Launch Party (#2), Goldstream Sports
– Wednesday, Sept. 14, 6-8 p.m. – Slide show, Beaver Sports
– Thursday, Sept. 15, 5-8 p.m. – Equinox bib pickup, Wood Center
– Friday, Sept. 16, 5-8 p.m. – Equinox bib pickup, Wood Center
The book will be available for retail at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports and Gulliver’s Books. It can also be ordered at the website www.equinoxmarathonbook.com.
Saari’s book is 460 pages long and features a mostly chronological history of the event, recaps of every race from 1963-2015, and more than 100 photos.