Kelli Burkinshaw

Beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. (repeating Sundays at 7 p.m.) 360 North-TV will broadcast a four-part documentary series on the Marine Highway’s 50 years of operation.

It’s clear the Alaska Marine Highway is an integral part of coastal Alaskans lives.  In this series, people share their stories, like artist and Ketchikan resident Ray Troll, who came up on the ferry to help his sister open a fish shop.

“I think I came by myself, but I came just for the summer, of 1983, and 30 years later, I’m still here.”

Stories of people like retired Boatswain, John Kanarr, who met his wife while working aboard the Malaspina.

“My wife likes to say this, I don’t, but she does, that the Alaska state ferry system was the original Love Boats.”

Petersburg Track coach, Brad Taylor, says the ferry system is the only economical way to get athletic teams around Southeast.

“We would love to be able to travel, you know, by air, just because the time out of school would be less, but there’s no way we would be able to afford that.”

Stephanie Hoag, from Juneau, weaves the ferry into the seasons of her life and thanks the Taku for her life.

The other really significant thing about the ferries for me is the fact that, they saved my life.

You’ll have to watch the series to find out how.

Series Broadcast Schedule:

Alaska’s Marine Highway
Wednesday, Sept. 25th at 8 p.m. (Sunday, Sept. 29th at 7 p.m.)
From Bellingham to the Aleutians, the “flagship program” of the series is an overview of the 35 hundred miles the 11 ships travel. It’s also a historical sketch of it’s first 50 years.  This show was released to a national PBS audience earlier this year and has aired in more than half of the states.

Alaska’s Marine Highway: The Golden Voyage
Wednesday, Oct. 2nd at 8 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 6th at 7 p.m.)
The second documentary showcases the culture, history and change in Southeast Alaska ports as the Malaspina takes it’s Golden Voyage up the inside passage.

The third and fourth shows are long-form, oral histories.

Alaska’s Marine Highway: Life on Board
Wednesday, Oct. 9th at 8 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 13th at 7 p.m.)
Life on Board, focuses on the challenges and rewards crew members face while working and living on the ships.

Alaska’s Marine Highway: Connections
Wednesday, Oct. 16th at 8 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 20th at 7 p.m.)
Connections, explores how the ferries have linked people in the villages and towns of coastal Alaska to the road system and to each other.

For Juneau Runners, September means some seriously crazy running. For the past 31 years, teams of runners run, walk or crawl–whatever means necessary–through a relay-style, ten-leg race that begins in Skagway and ends nearly 110 miles later in Whitehorse (most of it in the middle of the night).

The length of the ten legs vary from just over 5 miles up to 16 miles. The terrain is quite hilly (especially for leg 2) and can be quite challenging.  This year it rained on and off for the first five legs, and was very foggy for most of legs 2 and 3.

There were 1,396 runners making up 146 teams from all over Alaska and parts of Canada. Some runners are in it strictly for the fun, others are mildly competitive, and some teams are downright determined to win.

It was a good year for Juneau runners, placing within the top three in three categories: Open, Mixed and Women’s only.

In the Open category, the C.C. Striders took second place with a total time of 14.29.34.

In the Women’s Only category, Hard Women are Good to Find, took third place with a total time of 16:44:16.

And in the Mixed category, Team 8 took first place with a total time of 12:22:46.

For more details on the race, visit the Klondike Road Relay results page.

Juneau teams on the ferry riding to and from the Klondike this weekend share their thoughts on the race:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYzoag5RkCw]

Enjoy the Klondike Road Relay – 2013 slideshow.