The 11th annual Mount Lorne Mis-Adventure Trail Race saw a drop in numbers on Sunday, not just in participation, but in times as well.
The event, hosted by the hamlet of Mount Lorne and sanctioned by Athletics Yukon, had 23 runners, down from 32 last year.
Though rainy conditions are likely to blame for the drop in runners, they can’t be blamed for slowing anybody down in the 21-kilometre trail run.
Whitehorse’s David Eikelboom not only improved on his time from last year, he set a new course record.
The 26-year-old, who is the current Yukon cross-country running champ, finished in 1:17:29, shaving more than three minutes off his time from 2012.
He broke the course record of 1:18:42 set by Tennessee’s Derek Gibson last year, a race in which Eikelboom placed second.
“About half way up you have to go up a pretty steep and long hill and for the rest of it you’re running down the side of the mountain,” said Eikelboom.
“Basically the goal for this year was to beat my time from last year, so I was able to do that.”
Eikelboom moved to the Yukon from Owen Sound, Ont., in May 2012 before winning the open men’s division at the Yukon Cross Country Championships last September.
He placed 24th overall out of 634 men at the Calgary Marathon at the end of May. Eikelboom broke the three-hour mark with a time of 2:55:58.
“I set a personal best there, so I was pretty happy with that,” said Eikelboom.
Two-time Whitehorse triathlon champ Joel Macht placed second on Sunday with a time of 1:27:47. Masters runner Tom Ullyett placed third for men with a time of 1:28:37, shaving five minutes off his time from last year.
The Mis-Adventure also had a repeat winner. Whitehorse’s Lauren Whyte was the top woman, crossing the finish line at 1:35:08. She, too, improved on her winning time from last year, lopping off more than three minutes.
Whyte won the women’s division at the Yukon Five Kilometre Road Race Championships earlier this month for the second year in a row.
Placing second for women at the Mis-Adventure was Claudette Augert at 1:36:54, ahead of Jody Eikelboom at 1:39:28.
Both David Eikelboom and Whyte plan to run the full distance of the Yukon River Trail Marathon on August 4.
“This run in Mount Lorne - I don’t want to call it a training run, but it was sort of a trial run for the trail marathon, to get a little more speed in for the race and see how I do with a little bit of competition,” said Eikelboom.
This year’s Mis-Adventure raised about $500 for the Mount Lorne Volunteer Fire Department.
“It is a really well-run event, so I’m always a little surprised how small it is,” said Eikelboom. “But there was a decent amount of people out considering how stormy and wet it was.”
Top-five men
1st David Eikelboom - 1:17:29
2nd Joel Macht - 1:27:47
3rd Tom Ullyett - 1:28:37
4th Thomas Tetz - 1:36:32
5th Ben Yon Shott - 1:40:29
Top-five women
1st Lauren Whyte - 1:35:08
2nd Claudette Augert - 1:36:54
3rd Jody Eikelboom - 1:39:28
4th Linda Dufour - 1:43:44
5th Kelley Proudfoot - 1:44:06
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com