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For the 20th straight year, Yukon runners converged on the village of Mayo last weekend.

More than 200 walkers and runners took part in the annual Mayo Marathon Saturday night 鈥� a unique race that sees runners pounding the pavement under the midnight sun.

Participants were able to choose between four race distances: five-km, 10-km, half marathon and marathon.

The event has become a summer showcase for the northern village of 400 people, said Mayo recreation director Ian Spencer.

鈥淣ot a word of a lie, it鈥檚 one of the best events our community hosts in terms of promotion,鈥� he said.

However, talk has turned to the future of the event, run by the village鈥檚 Fly-By-Night Running Club.

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a fair amount of turnover this year with our executive and volunteers,鈥� said Spencer. 鈥淚鈥坱hink there鈥檚 a little bit of concern about us being able to run the event, losing so much experience.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going to say it鈥檚 going to be the last, last one, but it might take us a while to get up to speed.鈥�

Whitehorse鈥檚 Tedd Tucker finished second in the full marathon, slightly more than 15 minutes behind winner David Stanford of Edmonton.

鈥淭he best part about this marathon is how much the Mayo community gets behind it,鈥� said Tucker, who ran in the men鈥檚 20 to 39 division. 鈥淭he event has a very unique feel.鈥�

Many local residents help stage the race 鈥� from manning water stations to serving snacks, Tucker said.

Conservation officers and RCMP are also out on bear patrol.

鈥淭he course is challenging,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 got a big hill about five km into the race, and then a steady rhythm of rolling hills after that.鈥�

Sue Bogle of Whitehorse took victory in the women鈥檚 half marathon, crossing the finish line in 1:35:33.

鈥淚t happens at night, which is a neat thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what drew me out to begin with, just the uniqueness of running at midnight.鈥�

Race alterations now see the majority of runners finishing around midnight, under the gleam of the late-night sun. While Bogle competed in the women鈥檚 40 to 49 category, her sons ran shorter distances.

鈥淚t is something I would like to see continue,鈥� she said of the race. 鈥淎 lot of different places are always represented. ... This year, there were people from Poland, U.K., Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand. It has a real international flavour.鈥� The atmosphere surrounding the run is what makes it special. Hot chicken soup is available to runners post-race, followed by a much-anticipated homemade brunch Sunday.

Whitehorse鈥檚 Richard Zral, who finished the half marathon in 1:59:40 鈥� tops among men age 60-plus 鈥� said it would be a shame for the marathon to go. He鈥檚 run 15 in a row.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e running short on volunteers,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he same people have been doing it for 20 years, and like me, they鈥檙e getting older.

鈥淲e could do some of the organizing from Whitehorse, I think. The big thing for them is the breakfast. It鈥檚 got to be a nightmare to organize that. But it鈥檚 amazing.鈥�