Bonny Sosa Tuesday Night Races: nine weeks of trail running for families.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Alaska This Month

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Swift footfalls drum out the stillness on the birch-lined trail paved with bright yellow aspen leaves. Dozens of Anchorage's elite runners bolt along the course at Kincaid Park. Scores of other runners follow. Another wave of participants comes next--they bring leashed dogs, various baby-jogging strollers with infants, while toddlers and school children trot along the path. The wooded corridor resounds with light-hearted chatter, children's laughter and mischief, and encouraging words from parents and grandparents for little ones.

The Bonny Sosa Tuesday Night Race Series has developed into a community treasure after 42 years. The event, which casually began with small numbers, now draws hundreds for its nine races.

September marks the start of Anchorage's longtime fall weekly trail-running races.

This year's 43rd annual race series begins Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Kincaid Park. The races continue every Tuesday until the Nov. 2 finale with awards and a potluck. The Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department coordinates the race series.

The Bonny Sosa Tuesday Night Race Series features three ability levels and distances between one and 12 kilometers. The adventurous courses along forested trails are never canceled for weather, adding elements of rain, snow and ice to the challenge.

"The event has become larger over the years," said Margaret Timmerman, coordinator of recreation programs, Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department. "When it started, 15 to 20 people would come out for untimed events. Last year we had over 7,000 people participate in the nine-week series."

Longtime Parks and Recreation staffer Jerry Walton managed the event for 30 years, Timmerman said. She took the reins after he left the department. Volunteers are also a key to success, she noted.

Two years ago, the event was named for Anchorage businesswoman and youth health advocate Bonny Sosa, who died suddenly in 2008 due to a brain tumor, Timmerman said. Sosa helped start the city's Healthy Futures program.

"My favorite part is that this is a multi-generational event," Timmerman said. "People who ran the event 40 years ago are now bringing their children and grandchildren to the event."

Gary Snyder, Rob Whitney and Tom Grenier ran the Tuesday Night Races as children and now set the race courses, Timmerman said.

Rich Wenrich, who began running in the Lightning League in the 1980s, now is the event's timing guru. He ran...