Ultra-endurance athlete Tracie Curry was originally drawn to northern environments through her education. Though she is originally from Los Angeles, her pursuit of a master’s in landscape architecture and a PhD in national resources and sustainability brought her first to New England, then to Norway and eventually to Fairbanks, where she now lives. Since settling in Alaska, she has transformed from a marathon road runner to an ultra-distance trail runner and skier, and in 2025 she set a course record in women’s skiing for the Iditarod Trail Invitational from Knik to McGrath.
Though northern environments posed a drastic change from Curry’s L.A. upbringing, she did not find her transition to living in the far north especially jarring. “I think I’m just a generally adaptable person,” she says. “Wherever you go, you want to get outside and have fun and figure out a way to do that,” she adds.
But, Alaska changed the scale and methods of Curry’s outdoor pursuits. “I’ve always liked being outside,” she explains, “but outside in the urban environment versus outside in the natural environment — that was a big shift.” Though she had been a lifelong runner, most of Curry’s experience was running on roads. Fairbanks introduced her to running on trails, which she quickly found more interesting and varied, increasing her motivation for running long distances.
Curry’s friends and community in Fairbanks quickly introduced her to ultra marathons. “They just made it seem like it was just something that people do,” she explains. “It takes a lot of the mystique out of it.” Curry saw ultra runners racing for a wide variety of reasons, from competition to just having fun, and was inspired to try her own hand at ultra racing for the first time in 2016, when she completed the Resurrection Pass 50-miler. Curry says that ultras can be more enjoyable for her, as she has time to take care of herself over the course of a race. “Every second doesn’t really count,” she explains. “You can stop and fix your boots if they’re rubbing or you can eat and drink enough water.” Curry adds that she sometimes feels better after finishing an ultra-marathon than a 10-kilometer race.
And though she enjoys summer running, it didn’t take Curry long to realize that winter running was not for her. So she enrolled in Nordic ski lessons at UAF, where she evolved her technique with individualized instruction. “I just really enjoyed it immediately,” she says. And she was willing to dedicate plenty of time to the sport. “To get good at something, you have to be consistent with it. And I was motivated to get better,” she adds.
In 2025, Curry decided to ski the Iditarod Trail Invitational a as a personal milestone to honor turning 40. The longest winter race she had done prior to the I.T.I. was 110 miles long, so the step up to 306 miles felt like a big mental leap. She chose to race solo, prioritizing her ability to stop and take care of herself as needed without worrying about slowing a partner down. But she also brought a race mentality. “I just tried to sleep when I could, and then otherwise was just on my feet, going,” she recalls. “That ended up resulting in a fast time, which was great, but also really unexpected.” Curry finished the race in 5 days and 22 hours, shaving over 24 hours off the previous course record.
Looking ahead, Curry says completing the I.T.I. opened her eyes to the possibilities of future ski traverses that she’d like to do in more remote areas of Alaska. She hopes to integrate skiing into more of her work trips in Arctic Alaska, utilizing the lightweight winter camping skills practiced along the Iditarod Trail.
Curry is also committed to giving back to her communities in a variety of ways, including a board presidency at Endurance North, an organization focused on expanding outdoor access through endurance events. Curry says races can transform landscapes into shared community spaces, encouraging people to explore places they might not otherwise visit.
She also partners with Tununrmiut Rinit Corporation, which she views as a means to promote ongoing Indigenous land stewardship. “TRC Corp. have been managing their lands as stewards since time immemorial, so this helps to bring back in the context of the the areas where we’re racing promoting the recognition of the original and the current stewards of the land.” Moving forward, she is also interested in applying endurance lessons — such as managing low points and building resilience — to youth mental health work in rural communities.
Finally, she hopes her presence as a Black woman in endurance running and skiing can help challenge narrow assumptions. “I don’t look like what people would expect for a first place finisher in an ultra-endurance ski race – I want people to change their perception of what an endurance athlete looks like,” she says. “All of us enjoy time outdoors regardless of where we come from, and we can excel at it ff it’s truly what we enjoy doing.”
Emily Sullivan is a photographer and writer focused on outdoor recreation, environmental wellness, and community empowerment. She is based on Dena’ina lands, where she can usually be found skiing, packrafting, or berry picking.
