Alaskans have a curious affinity for competitively running up and down mountains. You have Seward’s infamous Mount Marathon race, held annually on the Fourth of July and drawing daring racers from all over. Runners and hikers conquer new trails in the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Parks’ annual ocean-to-peak-to-ocean Mountain Classic. And on Sunday, 21 athletes ran a half-marathon from Seldovia town to the tallest local peak, braving wind, fog and a little rain. 

Organized by Ground Truth Alaska founders Erin McKittrick and Bretwood “Hig” Higman as a fundraiser for local trail building, the Graduation Ridge Race is a Labor Day weekend tradition now in its second year. Runners started the out-and-back race at the Seldovia Harbor Pavilion, then climbed a single-track hiking trail across a wind-swept ridgeline and over Graduation Peak to the taller peak just beyond, locally called “PhD,” before returning to the harbor. Competitors ran 13.1 miles with 4,500 feet of elevation gain.

First-place finishers Denver Waclawski and Anna Widman set new course records in the open and women’s categories, respectively. Waclawski made it back down and across the finish line after 2 hours, 38 minutes and 19 seconds. 


Widman, close behind, finished third overall in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 35 seconds. The cut-off time for the race was 6 hours. 

Waclawski, who also placed first in the inaugural Graduation Ridge Race, broke his own 2025 record of 2:42:49 by more than four minutes. 

Widman broke the record of last year’s first-place finisher in the women’s division, Katie Marden, by more than 30 minutes. 

“Adding up the fastest ascent and fastest descent this year would have given a time of 2:32, so there’s room for those records to come down more,” McKittrick wrote in a Facebook post Monday. 

She also gave a shoutout to Ben Lintz, Sunday’s only youth competitor who completed the course with a time of 4:51:01.

2026 Graduation Ridge Race Results

Open Division

1. Denver Waclawski, 2:38:19; 2. Ian Moore, 2:41:22; 3. Martin Schuster, 2:45:45; 4. Riley Bickford, 2:54:06; 5. JK Keller, 3:09:22; 6. Andy Lorentz, 3:10:13; 7. Michael McGuire, 3:17:31; 8. Michael Wise, 3:17:46; 9. Alex Hone, 3:30:42; 10. Kyle Lintz, 3:56:33; 11. Rob Bowler, 4:05:34; 12. Ben Lintz, 4:51:01; 13. John Romanoff, 5:35:48.
   
   

Women’s Division

1. Anna Widman, 2:45:35; 2. Jen Joliff, 3:07:01; 3. Katy Rice, 3:46:36; 4. Chelsea Wingard, 4:04:26; 5. Ellen Dore, 4:46:45; 6. Priscilla Marble, 4:46:45; 7. Ashley Keithley, 5:06:15; 8. Mariah Turner, 5:35:48.