Ketchikan’s longest race, the Totem to Totem Half Marathon, takes place Saturday, and to provide for a true Ketchikan experience, rain is expected during the run.

The 13.1-mile race starts at Rotary Beach Park, four miles south of Ketchikan, and follows the Tongass Highway past Saxman Totem Park, through Ketchikan, north past Ward Cove to the finish at Totem Bight State Park.

Bib pick-up for runners is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday at the Ketchikan Recreation Center. There is no bib pick-up or registration on the day of the race.

A small ceremony and land acknowledgement is set for 8:50 a.m. immediately before the race starts at 9 a.m. All runners and walkers will start at the same time, with the fastest runners at the front and walkers at the back.

There are five aid stations along the route at approximately the 3-, 5-, 7-, 10- and 11-mile marks. Relay teams can choose which aid stations they want to use as handoff points.

Parking is limited at the Potlatch Totem Park finish area. Bus passes are included in the registration for entrants. The Borough Transit Silver Line bus stops at the park hourly.

Two cruise ships are scheduled to be in Ketchikan on Saturday, one docking downtown at 9 a.m., and one at the Ward Cove dock arriving at 1 p.m., so race participants should expect to deal with some tourist traffic.

After Covid disruptions in 2020 and 2021 caused the race to be run virtually in the spring, along with a small fall version in 2020, the Totem to Totem returned in full force last year with 146 total racers, including runners, walkers and relay teams.

Sean Vail won last year’s half marathon in a time of 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 27 seconds, which was remarkably similar to his winning time of 1:23:07 in the fall version of the race in September of 2020.

Martha Santandreu was last year’s women’s champion in a time of 1:38:42. The relay team called CPR Certified, consisting of Nicole Limle and Molly Oien, was the top relay squad in 1:55:04.

For more information on the race visit the KRC’s website at ketchikanrunningclub.com.