The Equinox Marathon is a fairly laid-back, community event. The usual common rules apply: No cheating, don’t cut the course, be considerate and polite to everyone you encounter, enjoy the country, have fun, etc. Use common sense in a spirit of fair play, and everything will be fine.

But because of our unique course that crosses the Alaska Railroad tracks twice, we have a couple of unique, specific rules:

Railroad Crossing Rules

The Equinox Marathon has no control over the time that the Alaska Railroad sends trains down the track. The race may very well be temporarily halted by an Alaska Railroad train. There are crossing guards at both railroad crossings who have been instructed NOT to let runners cross when the train gets close. Please follow the instructions of the crossing guards.

Rule One:

The first time the Equinox Marathon and Half Marathon course crosses the railroad tracks is at about mile 8. If runners come upon a train at mile 8 of the course, they must stop and wait for the train to pass. The race clock will continue to run, and there will be no adjustments made to your finish time or standing for “train delay.” After the train passes–and not before–runners will be directed to continue the race. This rule also applies to the second time that the Half Marathon crosses the railroad.

Rule Two:

This rule is in effect only for the marathon and only at the second crossing. Train rule number two is a bit more benevolent than train rule number one, in that this recognizes that the runner is almost 25 miles into the marathon.

In this location, the clock will stop for any runner who is met with a train at this crossing. In this case, the runner’s stationary time will be recorded by the Race Marshall at the crossing. The order in which runners arrive at the crossing will be noted by the Race Marshall and a finish order awarded at the train crossing. This finish order will stand as long as the affected runners finish the race after the train passes. The train “delay time” will be deducted from the time recorded at the finish line.