If a Yukon runner can break the one-hour mark in a 10-mile race, he or she is set for a good leg come the Klondike Trail of ‘98 International Road Relay.
Whitehorse’s David Eikelboom did that at the Chocolate Claim Pre-Skagway 10 Miler — the warm-up event for the Klondike road relay — in Whitehorse on Aug. 27.
The 30-year-old came first overall for a second year in a row with a time of 58 minutes and 19 seconds, over three minutes slower than his winning time from last year.
“It was a hard race today. The wind was harder than I expected and Brendan (Morphet) came out pretty quick with me, so as a result of that I went out a little harder than I should of and was breathing way harder than I should have by mile three or four,” said Eikelboom. “Getting through the hills was good. I’m running Leg 10 of the road relay in a couple of weeks, so I really wanted practice of leaning into the hills and coming up out of the hills — that mechanics. So I felt good about that.
“I’m happy with the effort. The time wasn’t stellar, but it was a good day.”
Morphet, who won the Yukon River Trail Marathon in July, placed second place for a second year in a row in 1:04:39, about five minutes off his time from last year.
Bill Matiation was third over the line in 1:13:17.
Laura Kosakoshi was the top female with a time of 1:14:02. Anett Kralisch, who won the Yukon 10-kilometre Road Race Championships mid August, placed second at 1:14:11 ahead of third place’s Sophie Trembley at 1:21:00.
Eikelboom captained the highest finishing Yukon team in the Klondike road relay, a 175-kilometre race from Skagway to Whitehorse, the last three years.
Last year his mixed team, Running Home to Yukon Brewing, placed second overall behind “Team Elite — TNP” of Anchorage.
Running Home to Yukon Brewing will be back this year with a few new members (like Morphet), but Eikelboom doesn’t have high hopes about finally claiming the coveted first overall title in the event scheduled for Sept. 8-9.
“We never win the mixed category because the Alaskans come and lay a beating on us,” said Eikelboom. “We’re projected around 13 hours and they’re projected around 11, so they’re going to mop the floor with us. But it’s a great event and we’re just happy to be out there doing it every year.”
Also on the team, in order of legs they will run, are Jody Eikelboom, Caleb Light, Sarah Murray, Shane Carlos, Luke Carlos, Morphet, Brian Stuart, Matthias Purdon and Kralisch.
“We say, let’s keep the same team every year, but there’s always turnover,” said Eikelboom, who will run the anchor leg. “Lindsay (Carson) moved away, Logan (Roots) moved away, so some of the original founding members aren’t with us anymore.”
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com
Results
Male
1st David Eikelboom — 58:19
2nd Brendan Morphet — 1:04:39
3rd Bill Matiation — 1:13:17
4th Tom Ullyett — 1:15:38
5th Ross King — 1:17:08
6th Keith Maguire — 1:17:26
7th Ben Yu Schott — 1:19:05
8th Ben Harper — 1:21:02
9th Don White — 1:23:54
10th Chester Kelly — 1:26:37
11th Tyler Bradford — 1:27:26
Female
1st Laura Kosakoshi — 1:14:02
2nd Anett Kralisch — 1:14:11
3rd Sophie Trembley — 1:21:00
4th Johanna Smith — 1:21:08
5th Helen Stappers — 1:32:27
6th Tammy Kingston — 1:32:40
7th Emily MacLeod — 1:32:46
8th Rachel Moser — 1:35:13
9th Valerie Bussieres — 1:35:48
10th Sarah Hancock — 1:36:02
11th Megan Sharp — 1:36:08
12th Deb Kiemele — 1:37:56
13th Renee Mills — 1:38:38
14th Marlon Davis — 1:49:58