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The Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay celebrated its 30th annual race this past weekend with 1,330 participants.

The race begins in Skagway and covers more than 175 km to end in Whitehorse.

Local team Scarecrow won the race for the third year in a row with a total time of 11:29:43, out-running the second place team by more than three hours.

Teams started in Skagway on every half hour between 7 p.m. Yukon time and 11:30 p.m. depending on their estimated finish time.

Scarecrow set out at 11:30 p.m. and was still one of the first teams to come in, said Tracey Bilsky, the executive director of Sport Yukon.

"They end up for the first bit running on their own,鈥� she said, but "they start catching up by at least leg two and leg three.鈥�

Team captain Simon Lapointe said they were really pleased with this year's results, coming in 15 minutes faster than last year.

Keith Thaxter was the only runner to compete in the Ultra category, running 72 km solo from Carcross to Whitehorse for the sixth year.

Thaxter completed the distance in 6:33:43, about 15 minutes behind his time last year.

But after tearing his ACL skiing earlier this year and only getting in about five weeks of training, the time is nothing to scoff at.

In an interview today, Thaxter said he was fine for the first 50 km, but it started to get difficult after that.

"Leg 10 was pretty ugly, usually they're ugly anyway the last 20 k of long ultra events, but this one was extra ugly I think, from my perspective. If anyone saw me they thought I was going to die.

"But you're always looking pretty bad at the end of a hard event and it's surprising, I always feel the same way, if I don't get to the end of a marathon and feel like I'm ready to collapse then I haven't run hard enough.

"It was a good test to see where I'm at and I kind of confirmed that I'm not at the level I want to be at,鈥� he said, adding that now he knows what he needs to do to prepare for the fall's marathons.

"The next few marathons will be good because I'll remind myself what I need to put in and what pace I need to run to get to the finish line in better shape.

"I like running in the Ultra just because it's the sheer challenge to push yourself beyond the limits,鈥� said Thaxter, who believes there are a few more Yukon athletes who should attempt the run.

"Even 72 k can be a daunting distance; there's still a lot of people that should consider trying it. I think they just have to realize that finishing an Ultra is the first accomplishment. Everything above that is gravy.鈥�

Eventually he plans to run the whole relay - start to finish.

Eighty-year-old Ken Mulloy participated in the relay for the 19th year in row and plans to do it again next year.

Running leg 7 for the 17th time, Mulloy completed the distance in two hours and 32 minutes.

The relay gives him a focus every year, he said.

"I start running as soon as the cross-country skiing is finished... rather than wondering what I'm doing all this running for I train for the road relay, that's the focus. I start slow in the spring and gradually work up to the distances.鈥�

This fall he plans to travel to Vancouver Island with his daughter for a half-marathon before the start of the ski season.

Runners this year also tested out a new digital timing system for the road relay that's already in use by the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay and Yukon Orienteering.

"The timing system went very well. We were able to get accurate results very quickly,鈥� said Bilsky.

"We heard of runners checking their results in Carcross at 3:00 in the morning on their smart phones.

"We will for sure continue it in the future. We'll probably still have our manual timing system as a backup but eventually that should be phased out.鈥�

Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay Results:

Category: Open

1. Scarecrow (11:29:43)

2. C.C. Striders (14:53:25)

3. Los(t) Lobos (15:21:58)

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Women

1. Cougars...It's business time. (15:27:52)

2. Ladies Worth Freezin' For (16:00:05)

3. Oooh That Smell (16:57:18)

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Mixed

1. Team 8 (12:13:08)

2. Team Raven (12:18:10)

3. 12 Gauge (12:44:38)

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Masters Open

1. Cabriolet Xcelerators (12:51:44)

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Masters Women

1. Charlie's Angels (16:49:57)

2. Team Diva (17:02:31)

3. Medicine Chest Pharmacy (17:12:03)

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Masters Mixed

1. The Classics (14:59:05)

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Walkers (Carcross to Whitehorse)

1. Slowly Heading North (08:49:55)

2. Marj Eschak's Coldwell Banker Hot Properties (09:04:10)

3. Chocolate Claim Walkers (09:17:18)

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Corporate

1. Northwestel High Speed (15:52:34)

2. The CS More Than Paper Shufflers (16:01:35)

3. Super Horny Goats (16:08:03)

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Ultra (Carcross to Whitehorse)

1. Keith Thaxter (06:33:43)

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Youth (Carcross to Whitehorse)

1. The Green Squad Gremlins (06:22:38)

2. The Beliebers (06:38:00)

3. Batteries Not Included (06:41:54)