Haines runners were among several hundred set to compete in the annual Klondike Road relay over the weekend.
The grueling event, which normally begins in Skagway and traces the footsteps of the Klondike Gold Rush over 110 miles to Whitehorse, Yukon, was particularly challenging this year because a Skagway tour bus lost control and flipped on the Canadian side of the Klondike Highway.
The race start was delayed by four hours and the first three legs were canceled as a result, but the race resumed at leg four, allowing the racers to continue their journey.
One of those runners was Haines resident Rachel Saitzyk, who was running the race for the second time. Saitzyk was part of the “Bridge Club” team, running the fourth leg of the relay, which wound up being the first leg this year due to the accident.
She said the team was not trying to be the fastest on the course; members were essentially racing themselves.
“The whole team did a little better than we expected,” she said.
For Saitzyk, the challenge was personal — her leg was 14 miles long, and it was the first time she had run that distance continuously since her early twenties. She said she has been training casually, with just one or two runs a week, often on trails. But, she managed a respectable pace, averaging nine and a half minute miles.
Starting just past the Canadian border, Saitzyk described the terrain as rolling hills, neither too steep nor too flat. She said while the first few legs of the race typically involve intense uphill climbs, her section offered a more moderate, hilly challenge.
“None of them are dramatic,” she said.
And the course, though physically demanding, offered other rewards.
A clear night among the stars
One unique aspect of the Klondike Road Relay is its late-night start. Saitzyk began her run at 11:30 p.m., under a sky filled with stars.
“I saw the Milky Way for a lot of my run,” she said, adding that the rain that had come down in the earlier stages cleared up just in time for her start. Runners are required to wear reflective vests with blinking lights, and some chose to run with headlamps. However, Saitzyk opted not to, relying instead on the ambient light from the other runners and occasional passing cars.
While the run itself was quiet, there was never a shortage of encouragement. “Every mile or so, there were cars pulled over, cheering people on,” she said. At one point during leg five, participants were even treated to a glimpse of the northern lights, a sight Saitzyk said she just missed.
“There was a glow on the horizon during my leg, but it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see the lights,” she said.
Tunnels and bridges
Saitzyk’s “Bridge Club” team has 10 runners, each responsible for one leg of the race. Saitzyk’s leg followed directly after that of her teammate Nathan Mohan, who ran a nearly deserted stretch during the canceled third leg. As they advanced, the team maintained a tradition: forming bridges for the runners to pass through at support stops along the route.
“So, it’s actually a tunnel. So this year we were saying ‘yeah, like next year we’ll probably be called “The Bridge Club, it’s actually a tunnel.”
During each leg, the support van would stop every few miles to cheer their runner on.
“And everyone in the van would get out and make a tunnel or bridge. Our runners would run through, and a whole bunch of other runners would run through.” These stops were also practical; team members handed off water, electrolytes, and extra layers of clothing to runners.
Despite the team’s lighthearted approach, the race was no easy feat. “I got cramps in my legs maybe a mile or two into my race,” Saitzyk said. She spent the remaining 12 miles trying to work through the pain, employing a sort of meditation to relax her body and keep moving. “It was like, ‘just lean into it, just keep going.’”
While Rachel downplayed her speed and competitive edge, she did admit that hearing footsteps behind her was enough motivation to push harder. “There’s this head trip that goes on,” she laughed, “Like, ‘Oh hell no, he’s not passing me.’”
Even with the physical toll, Saitzyk said she was was thrilled with the experience. She described the relay as a mix of type one and type two fun—the latter being the kind of challenge that feels punishing in the moment, but satisfying afterward.
“I loved it,” she said, “I hope I do it again next year. It’s so fun.”
A non-exhaustive list of teams that included Haines runners:
The Bridge Club
- Rachel Saitzyk
- Tracy Wirak-Cassidy
- Alisa Beskie
- Brian Harmon
- Jeffrey Moskowitz
- Jan Mohan
- Nate Mohan
- Tesse Maciejko
- Adam McMahan
- Emily McMahan
Mombots
- Brittany Dunbar
- Sarah Elliott
- Gen Bell
- Wendy Fielder
- Lauren McPhun
- Jenn Walsh
- Heather Call
- Sierra Jimenez
- Alissa Henry
- Jenn Shelton
- Amanda Painter (driver)
Listen Linda – team from White Horse
- Dana Mills
Agony of de Feet
- Lauren Sanzone
- Jason Tapley
- Bethany Hartsell
- Nicole Hablitzel
- Hannah Dobbins
- Amanda Duvall
- Calvin Rhoads