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Klondike Road Relay passes registration goal in less than two days

More spaces for runners and walkers are available as race returns to full route
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Registration for the 2022 Klondike Road Relay opened May 16. Race organizers say they have hit the minimum number of participants to guarantee that the full route from Skagway to Whitehorse is run for the first time in two years. (Tom Patrick/Yukon News Files)

Organizers are excited for the Klondike Road Relay’s first running of the full 175-kilometre route in two years.

Judging from the number of teams registered for the run, they aren’t the only ones.

Seven hundred participants were needed to sign up for the race from Skagway to Whitehorse to go ahead and registration opened May 16.

Ahead of the registration opening, Sport Yukon executive director Tracey Bilsky said, “We can’t wait to open registration to the public.

“We’ve been hearing how excited people are to return to a full race, hopefully, that translates to registration.”

By the morning of May 18, with registration open for three days, the minimum was met and exceeded. Sport Yukon communications coordinator John Tonin said more than 800 participants and 93 teams were on board.

While the organizing committee has hit its break-even point, meaning the race will definitely go ahead, Tonin said they are nowhere near the maximum and are excited to see more registrations. He noted that the 2019 running of the race saw between 1,600 and 1,800 people out on the course.

There is a financial incentive to early registration. Teams that reserve spots between May 16 and 31 will be charged $75 per runner or walker while the price goes up to $85 each for teams that register between June 1 and Aug. 26. Team captains who haven’t filled their rosters yet can reserve a spot by prepaying and then adding runners later.

Tonin said Sport Yukon is thrilled with the support from the running community in the Yukon and in Alaska so far.

The relay, which can be split into as many as ten legs, is scheduled to start Sept. 9 in Skagway. The 2022 race will be largely similar to the way it’s been run for the past 40 years but some changes are being planned.

“The big one runners will notice is the change of location of Checkpoint #3,” said Bilsky.

“Leg 2 will be slightly longer, but it makes the leg and checkpoint much safer.”

For those who want to be involved without running or walking a leg of the race, volunteers will be needed. Volunteer registration opens after the May long weekend.

Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com



Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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