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Whitehorse runner wins fourth straight Dome Race

Whitehorse's Stephen Waterreus is the Brett Favre of the Midnight Dome Race.
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Whitehorse’s Stephen Waterreus is the Brett Favre of the Midnight Dome Race.

After saying he was retiring from the race last year, Waterreus was back again to win the race for the fourth consecutive year in the 34th annual event in Dawson on Saturday.

“Last year I said I was going to retire, but obviously I didn’t,” said Waterreus. “But I was back for this year and this year I’m saying I’m retiring again from the Dome Race. But you may see me next year again.”

Waterreus completed the 7.2 kilometres up the Dome Road, climbing 564 metres in elevation, with a time of 35 minutes, 28 seconds, just over a minute slower than his time from last year.

“It went fine. I guess I did what I had to do to get to the top in first,” said Waterreus. “About halfway through I started putting on a little bit of a lead. Towards the top I was going to push a little bit harder, but I thought, what the hell - I didn’t want to kill myself.

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“Everything was the same as every other year; the course is always the same. Maybe there were a few faces that are normally there that weren’t there.”

Whitehorse cross-country skier Knute Johnsgaard, who represented the Yukon at the Canada Winter Games in February and is on the junior national team, was second overall, up from third last year, with a time of 38:38.

Taking third was Yukon Member of Parliament Ryan Leef, reaching the summit in 41:08.

The race’s top female was Whitehorse’s Chantal Gagne, coming in eighth overall with a time of 44:05.

Coming in second for females was Whitehorse’s Jessie Gladish with a time of 55:00, just 14 seconds ahead of Dawson’s Alison Slater in third. The two finished 31st and 32nd overall.

Fifty-four runners and three walkers took part in the race, which began the year before the first Dawson City Music Festival.


TOP RESULTS

1st Stephen Waterreus (Whitehorse) - 35:28

2nd Knute Johnsgaard (Whitehorse) - 38:38

3rd Ryan Leef (Whitehorse) - 41:08

4th Sean MacDonald (Whitehorse) - 42:42

5th Matthew Cuddy (Sault Ste Marie) - 42:59

6th Boris Hoefs (Whitehorse) - 43:25

7th Ted Hunter (Dawson) - 43:35

8th Chantal Gagne (Whitehorse) - 44:05

9th Ted Piotrowsky (Superior, WI) - 44:25

10th William MacKeller (Whitehorse) - 44:25

11th Davy Dhillon (Vadchoof) - 45:00

12th Johan Hulquist (Toronto) - 45:11

13th Nicholas Diamont (Ottawa) - 45:31

14th Mike Tribes (Whitehorse) - 46:11

15th Daniel O’leary-Baikie (Dawson) - 46:43

16th Robert King (Sudbury) - 47:36

17th Chris Stafford (Dawson) - 48:03

18th Johnny MacKenzie (Whitehorse) - 48:03

19th Ross Reed (Nepean) - 48:23

20th Jeff Knievel (Regina) - 49:34

31st Jessie Gladish (Whitehorse) - 55:00

32nd Alison Slater (Dawson) - 55:14

33rd Bobbie Dochstader (London) - 55:23

36th Debora Kitchen (Whitehorse) - 57:51


Contact Tom Patrick at

tomp@yukon-news.com