Check out the 1,469-pound pumpkin that just broke the Alaska State Fair record

Updated: August 31, 2016 Published: August 31, 2016

Pumpkin fairies dance around a giant pumpkin to bless it before it is weighed at the Alaska State Fair. The pumpkin went on to set a new state record of 1469 lb. for Dale Marshall of Anchorage. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

After five years of chasing the Alaska State Fair giant pumpkin record, Anchorage's Dale Marshall finally won the heavyweight title once again.

At the 11th annual state fair pumpkin weigh-off Tuesday, Marshall's 1,469-pound gourd beat the previous record of 1,287 pounds set in 2011 by J. D. Megchelsen of Nikiski.

It was a comeback of sorts for Marshall, who held the record in 2010. Marshall said warm weather and good seed selection led him to victory this year. Grown in a greenhouse at his Sand Lake home, the champion pumpkin weighs roughly as much as a large bull moose.

Dale Marshall’s giant pumpkin comes up clean as it is inspected at the Alaska State Fair pumpkin weigh-off. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

"(I did) pretty much what I do every year," he said. "And it panned out."

Marshall was also the lone entry in the 2015 competition, but was unable to compete when the crane hoisting his pumpkin broke during delivery to the fair, smashing the giant gourd into pieces.

Marshall said it was a relief to hold the record again. In previous years he's named the pumpkin prior to the weigh-off, but not this year.

"Right now we're just calling it the winner," he said.

Emcee Mardie Robb, right, gasps as grower Dale Marshall reads off the weight of his new state record pumpkin. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

Onlookers cross their fingers as a giant pumpkin is placed on the scales at the fair Tuesday. It went on to weigh in at a new state record of 1469 lb. for Dale Marshall of Anchorage. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

One of five pumpkins raised by Dale Marshall of Anchorage is wheeled into the Farm Exhibits building for the Alaska State Fair pumpkin weigh-off on Tuesday. The pumpkin weighed in at 791 lb., but was disqualified for having a large hole at its stem. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

Suzanna Caldwell

Suzanna Caldwell is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in 2017.