The Yukon River Trail Marathon celebrated its 25th anniversary as participants took off from Shipyards Park on August 4.
217 teams participated in the marathon or half marathon. They either tackled it solo or ran it in teams with relay race legs covering distances from nine to 15 kilometres. They started from the riverfront trail, advanced along the millennium trail and headed south toward the Miles Canyon suspension bridge.
Marathon runners on the full 43.4 km course turned right across the suspension bridge to complete all four legs of the race. Meanwhile, half-marathon participants veered left to loop back toward the city along Schwatka Lake.
Runners completing all four marathon legs climbed to the course’s peak elevation of 731 metres near Chadburn Lake, offering views of the Yukon River valley. They then descended to the third leg, looped around Chadden Lake and returned to the suspension bridge.
Adam Luciano won this year’s marathon race in three hours and 42 minutes, improving his previous year’s time by 23 minutes despite the course being one kilometre longer. Competing in the “open” category, Luciano was among runners aged 14 to 39.
In the women’s open category, Josie Storey secured first place by finishing in three hours and 56 minutes, with a slightly faster average speed per kilometre than Luciano.
Don White returned this year to compete in the “masters plus plus plus” category for ages 70 and older. He completed the full marathon in six hours and 20 minutes, improving his time from last year by 11 minutes.
The mixed relay team “Too fast too soon” achieved the fastest overall time in the full 43.4 km marathon, completing the course in three hours and 16 minutes.
This year’s course included an additional kilometre due to construction at the usual starting line in Rotary Park.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
