Keith Thaxter was miserable while he was marking the course for the Air North Family Fun Run.

As course coordinator, Thaxter ran the 8.75-kilometre route around the perimeter of the Erik Neilson Whitehorse International Airport on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, just before Mother Nature threw Whitehorse residents another curveball with heavy blowing snow.

Late yesterday afternoon was especially treacherous, prompting organizers to postpone the second annual Family Fun Run and Pancake Breakfast – originally slated to start 9 a.m. Saturday – until June 4.

"It's a pretty slippery, muddy, swampy mess right now – I was slipping and sliding all over the place and I was wearing trail shoes,” Thaxter said yesterday.

"All I was thinking was, ‘Jeez, I don't think I'll be too excited about coming around here Saturday morning and freezing.'

"It's a good decision they postponed it.”

The event was scheduled to start and end at the Air North administration building (#150 Condor Road) at 9 a.m. for walkers and 9:30 a.m. for runners.

The portion of trail across from the Airport Chalet and the section on the far south side of the fence, where excavators recently did work, is "very mucky,” Thaxter explained.

"We had the snow and then the rain the last couple of days, so it just seems like, with the ditches all on the front side and the back side, it's a very clay, muddy area, it just seems to retain the water fairly well.”

Pre-registration is still open at Sport Yukon for anyone interested in participating in the June 4 fun run. Cost is $5 cash or cheque.

Proceeds will go toward paying for the Athletics Yukon $2 per runner day rate and LDAY (Learning Disabilities Association of Yukon).

This year, LDAY will set up a tent on-site with five volunteers, who will read to kids and have a number of games planned.

"This kind of event is really exciting for us, because it means we're able to connect with the community in a different way, a new way,” said Meghan Colgan, acting executive director at LDAY.

"It's another avenue that we can reach more people, bring awareness about learning disabilities and connect with the public.”

She remains unconcerned about the weather affecting the numbers come June.

"Being a Yukoner for a few years now, I think that as Yukoners we understand that the weather does set delays sometimes. It's just something that happens, and we look forward to the date being in a couple weeks,” Colgan said.

"We understand why it needs to be postponed; we can't control the weather. We want to keep the participants safe, so we're looking forward to June 4.”

That date might seem familiar to those active in the community.

The 2011 Relay for Life will happen the same day, running from 12 p.m.-12 a.m. at Shipyards Park.

Organizers for the relay and the fun run, in coordination with Athletic Yukon, agreed both events will compliment each other and decided to go ahead with the new plans.

Rescheduling the fun run caused a headache for Josh Clark, marketing and sales coordinator for Air North, yesterday, forcing him to change advertisements and call media at the last minute to inform participants of the delay.

"We look forward to seeing everybody out on June 4. We do apologize for the delay; however, Mother Nature has wielded her wand and this is what she came up with,” Clark said.

"We definitely invite everybody to come and join us June 4 for the prizes and pancakes and the run.”

Last year's fun run attracted some 250 participants – and included more than 1,000 pancakes flipped for runners, walkers and those who stopped by for some breakfast.

This year, Clark expects those numbers to grow.

To date, roughly 50 people pre-registered for the event.

"We actually expect a bigger turnout this year. On June 4 we're hoping to see numbers up around 250-plus,” he said, adding that the majority of participants register on-site.

Organizers are also hoping the weather will have settled into warmer temperatures over the next couple of weeks.

"The ground is obviously not warmed up enough to take the amount of precipitation that we've seen in the last couple days,” Clark said.

"So unfortunately, it's probably a little bit treacherous for the runners; the hardcore runners probably would have no problem with it, but this is a family fun event.

"We did have a number of families come out not only running last year but also the little tykes on the bikes, so we feel that it's unsafe conditions for a family event.”

Midnight Sun Coffee, Skookum and Yukon Springs Water are on board to sponsor the event. Air North's in-flight kitchen will be cooking the pancakes.