The Klondike Road Relay is back, kind of…

 

The international road race that starts in Skagway and ends in Whitehorse is back after missing last year due to the global pandemic. Sort of. This year event organizers are calling it the Kinda Klondike Road Relay and they’ve made some pandemic inspired changes.

The Klondike Road Relay typically starts on Skagway‘s 2nd avenue and Broadway street sometime in early September. The race starts in the evening and relay teams run through the night about 110 miles from Skagway to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

There are typically around 2,000 participants and a giant party. The train whistle blows to start each heat, there’s an emcee/DJ at the starting line doing the countdowns. Police cars lead the runners down the street with lights flashing.

And people are dressed in ridiculous costumes. From tutus to dinosaur costumes to tall men in high heels. 

But this year race organizers have modified the course due to the pandemic. 

“We love coming and starting this race in Skagway, Alaska. But unfortunately, the borders are not open yet. And we knew we wanted to do an in-person event. So we did some modifications. And we’re starting from leg six, which is the B.C. Yukon border. And we’re going into Whitehorse with five legs,” said Deuling.

That’s race coordinator Amanda Deuling from Sport Yukon in Whitehorse. She says they’ve made the tough call to trim the race in half so as to keep the spirit of the race alive while staying safe from COVID.

“One difference is that it’s going to be in all daylight. Usually, we start in the evening and run overnight. This time, we’re starting at 7 a.m.,” said Deuling.

Another difference this year is that they won’t be timing individuals, instead, they’ll time the entire team. That way teams don’t have to pass the timing fob between themselves. There will be no campfires or food or drinks at the various checkpoints this year. There won’t be a big party at the beginning or the end. But as Deuling says, racers will still get to bring the fun.

“We have a group of people called the Theme Team. And they’re going to be out on the racecourse giving out prizes for team costumes, team cheering, and anything fun-looking that’s going on along the way. We really want to encourage people to blow off a little steam after a year and a half of hard times here. So we’re going to bring our party to the road,” said Deuling.

As of Friday, there are no American teams scheduled to compete in the Kinda Klondike Road Relay. But a group from Juneau called AKKlondike has set up a route starting at the Yukon sign and heading back to Skagway. 

Juneau’s Blake Rider says he’s got road permits and all the proper insurance. They will feature 5-person teams running the race back down the Klondike Highway.

“It’s gonna be really, really bare bones low key, it’s just basically it was just some, you know, some semblance of normalcy or the run that people miss,” said Rider.

Race registration can be done through AKKlondike.com there is a registration fee per team to cover the cost of permits and insurance. The Skagway Brewing Company will host the after-party with local rock band New Twin performing somewhere around 8 p.m.

And for those who don’t want to deal with the hassle of going through the Canadian border at all, another group in Skagway plans to run to Dyea and back just like they did last year.

If you and your team want to register and run the Kinda Klondike Road Relay this September 11, go to sportyukon.com and sign up by August 25. To get through the Canadian border you’ll need a negative COVID test within the last three days, proof of vaccination and a completed ArriveCan application.