It's now autumn. Felt like it for most of the summer, but it's officially no longer summer.
That means two things: the Yk Multisport Club has wrapped up its business for 2018 and cross-country running is in full swing.
The Cross-Country Run on Sunday at the Yellowknife Ski Club brought the club's 2018 season to a close with more than 60 young and not-so-young runners hitting the trails. As in past years, school participation was in full-swing as both J.H. Sissons and Mildred Hall had sizable contingents entered in the various races.
One of the big winners on race day was Colin Mahon, who won the tyke boys division by six seconds over Peter Kanigan.
Mahon said one of the big keys to victory was conservation.
“I tried to use not that much energy at the start,” he said. “There was only one person ahead of me so I went ahead of him (near the end) because I had a lot of energy left.”
Mahon did what every good runner in the lead does down the stretch – look behind him to see where the pack was. When he saw there was just one runner, he just kept on going.
And he wasn't worried.
“The only person behind was someone who was really fast and he was my best friend,” he said.
Mahon promised he wouldn't go to school on Monday and brag about it too much, he added.
Most of the younger divisions featured some close finishes, but none closer than in the bantam boys race as Isaac O'Neill and Shamus Downey ended up crossing the finish line with identical times of 10 minutes, 58 seconds.
Dave MacMillan, the multisport club's president, said he was pleased with how this season went and remarked about how lucky the club was to be able to remain unscathed from all the rain that fell on the city this past summer.
“It was a bit of worry, but we lucked out,” he said. “All of our events were well-attended and we didn't have one rained out.”
One thing he said makes the club unique is that there's something for everyone to take part in. not just running.
“We hit almost all of the communities in the city,” he said. “We have events for cyclists, triathletes, etcetera. We sometimes hit one or we hit them all, but we have really good athletes in town. Some of them do it to stay in shape, but there are some who like to challenge themselves.”
Another thing he said makes the club a good fit for the city is the social aspect.
“There's always new faces for events,” he said. “It's a good way to get out and meet the community and it doesn't take long to become a familiar face.”
MacMillan added there may be another race on the Thanksgiving long weekend, but that's still up in the air right now.
Cross-Country Run results
Tyke boys (1-km)
1st – Colin Mahon, 5:06
2nd – Peter Kanigan, 5:12
3rd – Jolliffe Mitchell, 6:01
Tyke girls (1-km)
1st – Sarah Boudreau, 5:29
2nd – Sumi Bertelsen, 5:37
3rd – Pippa Palmer, 6:07
Peewee boys (2-km)
1st – Toryn Wheler, 9:51
2nd – Koray Gannon, 9:54
3rd – Matias Gannon, 10:27
Peewee girls (2-km)
1st – Caris Wood, 10:09
2nd – Hannah Anderson, 13:25
3rd – Sadee Mitchell, 13:27
Bantam boys (2-km)
1st – Kiran Ray, 9:50
2nd (tie) – Shamus Downey and Isaac O'Neill, 10:58
Bantam girls (2-km)
1st – Harley Klengenberg, 10:58
2nd – Mary Olifie, 12:13
Midget boys (3-km)
1st – Titan Klengenberg, 14:21
2nd – Austin O'Neill, 14:34
3rd – Gordon Kwong, 14:58
Midget girls (3-km)
1st – Hannah Downey, 18:27
Junior girls (7.5-km)
1st – Ella Kokelj, 37:40
Open men (7.5-km)
1st – Brett Wheler, 32:04
2nd – Jack Panayi, 33:48
3rd – Mike Palmer, 33:50
Open women (7.5-km)
1st – Amanda Leaker, 39:43
2nd – Shauna Morgan, 42:42
3rd – Shailyn Drukis, 44:46
source: Yk Multisport Club