Tanana River Challenge

I hope you all enjoyed the race, don't forget about the Afterparty! Doors open 7 pm at the Ken Kunkle Center (2645 Goldstream Rd.). Pizza, sushi and beverages will be provided. The awards ceremony starts at 8 pm. We have many great sponsors this year and lots of fun swag to give away. Don’t miss the party!

Please be sure to thanks all our fabulous volunteers and sponsors! We could not do this without them.

Here are the latest GPX tracks for the course.

TRC Short Course 2026:
https://www.strava.com/routes/3467754082610142042

TRC Longer Course 2026:
https://www.strava.com/routes/3467755854581597054

TRC Long Course 2026 | 52.1 km Cycling Route on Strava TRC Long Course 2026 is a 52.1 km Cycling Route. Discover this route and more at Strava. Visit today!

Many thanks again to Metropolitan Garage and all the other sponsors what make this race possible! Without these sponsors and dozens of volunteers, this race just wouldn't happen. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the course tomorrow!

The trails are shaping up, and we got GPX tracks for the overland portion of the course!

Note that the race day schedule was slightly revised:
- Race Day Registration opens at 8am
- Long Course Start time is 9am
- Skijor Start Time is 9:15am
- Short Course Start Time is 10am

TRC 2026 Long Overland Course
https://www.strava.com/routes/3467539322990997042

TRC 2026 Short Overland Course
https://www.strava.com/routes/3467534345831116940

We have 14 slots available for race day registration: $105 for the short course, $125 for the long course. Unfortunately, we can only take cash payment at the start line.

The groomers have been working hard and the trail is setting up nicely! The short course will be 26.8 miles and the long course will be 32.7 miles +/- 0.1 miles. Below are the course descriptions. Course tracks will be sent out in the pre-race email on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

We are close to capacity. If you're not planning to race, please email [email protected] so we can open up more slots. Thank you!

We're delaying the start times in hopes of warmer temps. The long event will begin at 9 am, skijors at 9:15 am, and short event at 10 am.

Longer Course:
Total distance 32.7 miles (15 miles on the river, 17.7 miles on land).
Follow the river trail for 7.5 miles from the boat launch to Check Point 1 at Rosie Creek. Follow the trail for 0.5 miles after it jumps off the river and crosses back and forth paralleling the road towards the Quist Farm. Look for a marked and groomed trail on your left. For 3.5 miles, this trail winds through the spruce forests and open swamps skirting the banks of the Tanana River before turning inland and joining the Overland trail. At the junction with the Overland trail turn right and head "up" the trail for approximately 1 mile where you will make a left hand turn onto the Trail that Goes Behind the Ponds. This trail winds through spruce and birch forest for 2 miles before re-joining the Overland trail. Continue up the Overland trail and bear left at the Y junction to head towards the forest loop which you will travel in a clockwise direction. Take a LEFT at the next trail intersection onto Alden Pines trail and continue on this trail (up the steep hill) and on until you arrive at Checkpoint 2 (approx race mile 17) where you will make a LEFT hand turn onto Harrington's Longshot Trail. Follow Longshot until you reach the marked intersection and turn RIGHT onto Lookout Trail. Follow Lookout until you reach the intersection with Alden Pines and make a SHARP RIGHT hand turn to head down the hill. At the bottom of the hill look for Moose Wallow Trail on your left. You will follow Moose Wallow (mostly, but not all, down hill) for 1.6 miles where you will make a VERY SHARP RIGHT turn to join the Winter Trail and head behind the Quist Farm and go down a short steep hill. There is a straight, narrow section of trail - be ready to make a LEFT turn at the next trail intersection and then follow the marked trail to take you back to the Overland trail. Turn LEFT onto the Overland trail. Follow the Overland back to the road and then turn RIGHT onto the road to head to the river. At the end of the field look for the marked trail on the LEFT side of the road. Please stay on the marked trail for the next mile as it crosses back and forth over the road three times before bringing you back to the river. Follow the marked trail for 7.5 miles back to the boat launch.

Shorter Course:
Total Distance 26.8 mile (15 miles river, 11.8 miles on land)
Follow the river trail for 7.5 miles from the boat launch to Check Point 1 at Rosie Creek. Follow the marked trail for 1 mile after it jumps off the river and crosses back and forth over the road three times. Then follow the road for approx. 0.5 miles before turning left (shortly after the field gate) onto the start of the Overland trail. Follow the Overland trail (you will pass a groomed trail on your right - do not take this trail) to the Y intersection where you will make a sharp RIGHT hand turn and head onto the forest loop which you will travel in a clockwise direction. Take a LEFT at the next trail intersection onto Alden Pines trail and continue on this trail (up the steep hill) and on until you arrive at Checkpoint 2 (approx race mile 12) where you will make a LEFT hand turn onto Harrington's Longshot Trail. Follow Longshot until you reach the marked intersection and turn RIGHT onto Lookout Trail. Follow Lookout until you reach the intersection with Alden Pines and make a SHARP RIGHT hand turn to head down the hill. At the bottom of the hill look for Moose Wallow Trail on your left. You will follow Moose Wallow (mostly, but not all, down hill) for 1.6 miles where you will make a VERY SHARP RIGHT turn to join the Winter Trail and head behind the Quist Farm and go down a short steep hill. There is a straight, narrow section of trail - be ready to make a LEFT turn at the next trail intersection and then follow the marked trail to take you back to the Overland trail. Turn LEFT onto the Overland trail. Follow the Overland back to the road and then turn RIGHT onto the road to head to the river. At the end of the field look for the marked trail on the LEFT side of the road. Please stay on the marked trail for the next mile as it crosses back and forth over the road three times before bringing you back to the river. Follow the marked trail for 7.5 miles back to the boat launch.

Thank you Aurora Animal Hospital for your continued support of the Tanana River Challenge!

Late Registration Ends Tomorrow! Race day registration will be available for a remaining slots, but we only have a few left.

Tanana River Challenge Register Now!

Our team of groomers have been hard at work making multiple passes the last two days. The cold nights this week should help further establish their hard work. Here is the latest report from today:

The race trail is shaping up well! We had another team of 4 groomers out today and we ran the entire course starting from the boat launch.

Thanks to the sunshine and warmer temps over the weekend, there is now an established trail on the river. Hooray! However, it is not the wide superhighway trail that we are accustomed to in March. It is bumpy and still relatively soft in a lot of places - it's a good trail for skiing right now and a few people can even enjoy skate skiing in some places but bikers and runners will find it challenging. There are some areas that are drifty and in most places the established somewhat packed trail is 4-6 ft wide.

The trails on land are setting up very nicely. We cut some trees today to make it easier to get through with the groomer. Racers can expect a solid trail with most of the trail 4-5 ft wide. There will be some wider sections but these areas are the minority.

Thank you Bankstown Bike and Ski for Continuing to Support the Tanana River Challenge!

The groomers are out working hard and the trail is shaping up! The trails are too soft for biking right now but don't worry, with cold temps in the forecast, they should be in good shape by race day. Unfortunately, due to the overabundance of snow this year, there won't be a 45 mile course but we're aiming for a beautiful and fun 30 mile option if a solid trail can be established this weekend. Stay tuned!