Daily Sitka Sentinel

Virtual Klondike Keeps Sitka Runners in Shape

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor

A group of Sitka women didn’t let the cancellation of the 2020 Klondike Road Relay dampen their distance-running spirits.

On Saturday, 15 of them got together for an informal version of the traditional event, pacing it out on Sitka roads under a blue sky.

Event organizer KK Prussian said she needed motivation to stay in shape during the summer.

“Everybody was a bit lethargic this summer, and I realized I needed a reason to keep training,” Prussian said.

The planning for a local version of the Klondike run began last July, when Prussian assembled a group of like-minded runners.

“I noticed that the Klondike Road Relay was talking about a virtual race and I was like, ‘We can do a virtual race,’” she said. While Saturday’s run here wasn’t formally entered in the Klondike virtual race, Prussian said, it was the inspiration for the local event.

Kristin Homer has run in the Klondike race in years past, and she said that this year’s local event provided some needed personal connections.

“It was just really fun, and I ended up feeling pretty connected to everyone, even though some of them I had never met before. It was a really positive, fun thing to do,” Homer said.  

“The weather has been terrible and I’ve been working in healthcare – everybody is sort of stressed out. The rain has been a total downer. To achieve something to work for with other people has been a great motivator.”

The traditional Klondike Relay is a 108-mile (175 kilometer) road race from Skagway to Whitehorse, the capital of the Canadian Yukon Territory. It was canceled this year because of the pandemic, but it’s scheduled to resume September 10 and 11, 2021.

As a long-distance endurance race, the traditional Klondike relay continues through the night, and runners on that leg are often alone on the road beneath a crisp and clear night sky.

“It’s beautiful and I like running in the middle of the night – there’s  something cool about it,” Homer said.

Razie Guillory, left, gets the tag from Andrea Colvin during a virtual Klondike Road Race on Sawmill Creek Road Saturday. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

To avoid running at night on Sitka roads, the legs of the Sitka race were overlapped, allowing the final runner to finish by 6 p.m.

Prussian noted that because of the staggered start, two runners, Kristen Homer and Kevan O’Hanlon, passed each other as they ran.

Erika Knox said she has never run in the formal Klondike race, but appreciated the chance to participate in a team event like the one Saturday.

“I think it’s just a way to keep those (social) ties. I’ve never done the real Klondike, but I know that it’s a really tight-knit group of people that has done it over the years,” Knox said.

Before and after their turns in the relay, runners stayed around to support others taking their turns on the road, Knox said.

“All the different people on the relay just showed up randomly hollering and honking,” she said.

Knox’s leg was from the airport to the south end of the Cross Trail at Yaw Drive, then all the way to the Benchlands and a half mile up the Harbor Mountain Road, where she met Homer and tagged out.

Prussian noted that Val Edwards ran a full 14 miles from Starrigavan to the Fortress of the Bear. Emily Pound ran from Sharon Drive, near the end of Halibut Point Road, to Herring Cove. Kevan O’Hanlon ran from Petro Marine to Starrigavan and back, Prussian said.

All legs of the race added together totaled 110 miles.

Both Knox and Homer expressed appreciation for KK Prussian’s work in organizing the event.

“After I heard about it from KK I was like ‘I want to do it!’” Knox said.

Knox noted that she’s only recently gotten back into running.

“Just because I’m new back at running it was good to have moral support there,” she said. Along with supporters in vehicles, her husband, Pete Weiland, and their son Kobi cycled alongside her on the Cross Trail.

“It was kind of cool – there were people on bicycles biking alongside runners,” Prussian said. “There were bicycle spectators and support, there was car support,” she said.

The weekend’s almost summery weather was another benefit for runners, who took full advantage of ideal conditions for enjoying the outdoors.

“It was gorgeous,” Homer said, “and I think I was the last runner to start, so I started around 4:30 p.m. It was sunny and cool and perfect running weather.”

Prussian recalled the day’s beautiful sunrise.

“It was fantastic, it was hot enough but not too hot. I watched Edgecumbe turn pink at six in the morning,” she said.