Great news: We’re able to offer various discounts to registered runners this year! Find great rates for flights, accommodations, and more. Keep an eye on your inbox for a list of discount codes.

We recommend Yukon's local airline, Air North. They fly to Whitehorse from Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, and Yellowknife.

Travelyukon.com has great information about hotels and other activities you can do while you visit the Yukon. The start & finish of the race are in downtown Whitehorse, near the Yukon River, and many of the hotels are within walking distance. The City of Whitehorse also has a pretty good transit system.

The total elevation gain is 862 metres.  The course page includes an elevation profile of the full marathon.

Evening training runs for legs 2, 3 and 4 may be organized by Athletics Yukon on Thursday nights in July. Click here to confirm dates and times for the runs.

If you are from out of town and unable to familiarize yourself with the route before race day, please peruse the course page. Volunteers are happy to go through the course with you at bib pick up.

The course will be marked as follows:

1. Fluorescent orange pin flags  will be inserted in the ground to mark the course and show direction at all key intersections. Flagging tape (usually orange) will mark the course between pin flags. 

2. Sandwich boards are used to mark entry or exit at intersections on paved portions of the trail

3. Large orange pylons will be used at start/finish area and at Kwanlin (Miles Canyon) bridge.

We offer 3 individual events:  the full marathon, the half marathon, and the half marathon walk. We also offer a marathon-length relay team event.

While awards are given to the overall finishers only, results are posted in the following categories.

• Open: runners between the ages of 14 and 39 years on race day.

• Masters: runners who are between the ages of 40 and 49 years on race day.

• Masters Plus: anyone who is 50 to 59 years of age.

• Masters Plus Plus: runners who are between the ages of 60 and 69 years on race day. 

• Masters P3: anyone who’s 70 years and older, and still running!

We are committed to hosting an event which is inclusive of all genders, and believe that all participants should be able to compete in the category with which they identify. Our registration form includes 4 gender categories:  male, female, non-binary and prefer not to say.

Yes! Relay teams can have 2, 3 or 4 runners. The team decides who will run which legs, and each runner indicates which leg or legs they will run when they register online.  

You will be pleased to know that the runner who runs more than one leg only pays one registration fee!

Race and shirt fees are not refundable, but you can transfer ("sell") your spot online to another runner who is looking to participate.

If you are running or walking in an individual event—marathon, half marathon, half marathon walk—you can change your race category online.

Yes, you can. Find our more here.

After online changes to registration have closed, relay teams can substitute new runners for team members who are injured or who are unable to run on race day. These changes need to be made at bib pickup, and the new runner will need to sign a hard copy of the waiver. This waiver must be submitted in order for the bib package to be released.

Yes. Marathoners and relay teams who estimate that they will not be able to complete the course in 5.5 hours should consider signing up for the early start. Please read the race rules about the purpose and conditions of the early start.

Marathoners and team captains who did not request  an early start when they registered may do so by logging into their account at Events.com using the same email address used to register and making this change on your registration form. We also allow marathoners and captains to make this change at bib pickup.

In addition to beautiful scenery and challenging terrain, you will encounter aid stations with water, sports drink (Gatorade), and first aid. There are many friendly volunteers at checkpoints located at the end of each leg as well as the start/finish line. Additional water stations are at intermediary points between checkpoints, approximately one every 5km.

Bathrooms and port-a-potties are available at the race start/finish: port-a-potties are available  at the end of leg 2 (Chadburn Lake) and at the Schwatka Lake Boat Launch (Leg 4). There are also port-a-potties off course but near the Kwanlin (Miles Canyon) exchange point—check with race volunteers at this station for directions. Please note that we cannot adjust your time for bathroom breaks.

Bears on course are a regular occurrence. Runners should be prepared by reading material on bear encounters and staying safe in bear country on the Environment Yukon website and watching this video. Environment Yukon recommends carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it.

If you see a bear on or near the course, take note of whether it is aware of you. 

• If the bear is aware of your presence: speak calmly but firmly to the bear, don’t run but back away slowly and find an alternative route around it. If you do feel it necessary to proceed on the trail route, do so cautiously and make noise as you go.  Report the sighting to the first volunteer you encounter. 

• If the bear is not aware of your presence: try and move without getting the bear’s attention, watch for any change in its behaviour, make a wide detour and try to be undetected. Rejoin the course when you put some distance between you and the bear, and report the sighting to the next volunteer you encounter. 

• If you see young bears on the ground or in trees, be cautious and go back quietly the way you came before making a wide detour. Mama bear won’t be far away.

• If the bear is defensive, aggressive, and poses a risk to your safety, make yourself as big as possible by spreading your arms in the air and speak softly (e.g., “I’m just passing through”) and walk slowly backwards. Once you are no longer under threat, go back to the last race volunteer or aid station—warn other runners you encounter on the way and give the race volunteer as much information as you can about the bear’s whereabouts and its behaviour. This information will allow race officials to consider if and how the course should be re-routed. 

• If the bear is persistent and closes the gap between you, use your bear spray as a last resort.

Events which are out of the control of the race organizers (e.g., another pandemic, forest fire on or near the course, extreme weather conditions) may cause the cancellation of the race to minimize risk of harm to participants and volunteers. Depending on the nature of the event, the race may be cancelled before or on race day, including after the race has started. 

To keep registration fees as low as possible for participants, our budget is based on a cost-recovery model. We begin to incur expenses well before race day. In order to ensure the sustainability and financial viability of the race, these expenses must be covered by registration fees, even if the race is cancelled. 

In the event of race cancellation, and at the sole discretion of the Race Organizers, partial refunds may be issued.

Please visit our schedule page.

Note that any race packages that are not picked up by the end of bib pickup  are forfeited unless other arrangements have been made.

A sandwich, including a vegetarian option, a cookie, bananas, and choice of drinks is available post-race for all participants, beginning at approximately 11:30am.

In addition to a great experience, runners who complete the marathon and half marathon races, and half marathon walkers will receive a medal with the Yukon River Trail Marathon logo.

Awards will be given for the top three overall finishers in the marathon and half marathon events for male, female, and non-binary categories. This year we will be offering gift certificates redeemable at any Hougen Group retail store in Whitehorse (Sports Experts, Coast Mountain, Sports Lodge).

Prize amounts:

First place - $70

Second place - $50 

Third place - $40

The awards ceremony will be in the park at 2:45pm.

Results will be posted in the park shortly after the close of the race at 2:30pm. We’ll post them online the day after the race.