Finn Beaulieu rolled over the finish line to hoops and hollers from his teammates.

The Golden Horn Elementary School student, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, participated in the Klondike Road Relay Trail of '98 International Road Relay in his wheelchair.

Beaulieu's teammates were thrilled that he was included in an athletic event.

"Finn doesn't really get to participate in any of the school events, so it's really cool for him to be able to participate in this school event,” said 13-year-old Mary McBride.

Raging in age from 10 to 13, the Golden Horn Gazelles were the youngest team entered in this year's Road Relay, finishing fifth in the youth category with a time of seven hours, 35 minutes, 13 seconds.

Twelve-year-old Sarah Diment was pretty caviler about being the youngest team entered in the 2011 edition.

"It feels really cool to be out here,” she said when asked about being the youngest team.

McBride agreed.

"It felt pretty good. It was really fun, being with the team and cheering kids on. People cheering you on and being out there with everyone just makes you more motivated, for sure,” McBride said.

Golden Horn teacher Robin Fairburn has worked with runners at the school for the past five years.

Every student in the school participates in the running club through their gym class, and receives a ribbon for each kilometre they run.

The goal this year was to have as many students as possible complete 42 kilometres – the distance of a marathon.

The club is gaining popularity in recent years, Fairburn said. This year, organizers thought it would be a good idea to enter a keen team from Golden Horn in the road relay.

"We just thought it would be really cool to have an elementary school team because the kids are really keen to do it, even though they're young; and it's just inspiring and encouraging to see young kids out there given'er,” Fairburn said.

Especially inspiring was watching the students give it their all, she added.

"That's what running is all about; it's about digging deep, and I think all the kids surprised themselves with how well they did. We didn't have one kid that needed to break into a walk; they all ran their legs and finished with smiles on their faces. You can't ask for much more than that,” Fairburn said.

Parents and teachers tracked the team's progress by driving a kilometre ahead and pulling over to cheer them on. There was cheering, water, Gatorade and jube-jubes, kilometre after kilometre from Carcross to Whitehorse.

Not that the Gazelles ran without any kinks.

There was a mix-up when a runner was absent from the checkpoint.

"So Mary jumped out in her pajamas,” Fairburn chuckled, "and started running the leg. In the meantime, our other runner did show up, and ran the leg. So Golden Horn actually had two runners complete that leg.”

Fairburn added that running with the big boys in girls was a good experience for the students.

"I think it's awesome to prove to yourself you're able to do something you didn't think you'd ever be able to do – the school camaraderie, being in a van together, sharing jube-jubes and liquorish and cheering your teammates on was awesome.

"A smile never left her face the whole time.”