In a unique twist, Anchorage-based Team Raven pulled a fast one on Team Scarecrow to once again claim victory at the Klondike Trail of ’98 International Road Relay.

Long a men’s team, the group hoodwinked its Yukon rivals to win the 176.5-kilometre race from Skagway to Whitehorse last weekend – in record-setting style no less.

This year, Team Raven: Take No Prisoners registered as a mixed team, and the move paid off.

The seven-man, three-woman team blazed through the race’s 10 legs in less than 11 hours, setting a new mixed record of 10:56:36 in the meantime.

The time cracked the previous best barrier of 10:58:03, set by an Eagle River, Alaska, team also known as Take No Prisoners.

The overall race record is 10:16:28, set in 1990 by the Juneau ‘B’ Team out of Auke Bay.

“We’ve really wanted this record for five or six years now,” team captain Andrew Richie said, noting members of the current Raven team are close with the former record holders.

“It means a lot,” added Richie, 30. “We thought we could win by four or five minutes, and we just made it in.”

Team members Anna Dalton (Leg 7, 55:34) and Katelyn Steen (Leg 3, 45:52) also set new record marks for their individual legs en route to the win.

Dalton’s record came despite a one-minute delay after she arrived at the Carcross checkpoint slightly late.

“That kept it exciting,” smiled the 26-year-old race rookie. “This race is crazy. It’s a total blast. I’m a marathoner and half marathoner, so I enjoy races that hurt. But this one – driving along in an RV and being sleep deprived – it adds an extra layer of fun.”

Other Raven members included Denali Foldager, Ryan Beckett, Jacob Kirk, Yon Yilma, Corbyn Jahn, Ryan Cox and anchor Dylan Peterson.

The only other competitor to break an individual record was Shannon Gress of Juneau’s Team 8 (Leg 5. 1:27:02).

Overall, Team Raven won seven of the legs.

Last year, Raven returned to beat Scarecrow in a long-awaited showdown between the two elite men’s teams. The Alaskans crossed the finish line a little more than 10 minutes ahead of the Yukon team.

The victory ended Scarecrow’s four-year winning streak. Raven had previously won seven straight – from 2003 to 2009.

The new-look team wasn’t the only record-setting team in 2015, however.

Whitehorse youth team Kluane Drilling Road Runners ran the route from Carcross to Whitehorse in 5:48:58, besting the previous benchmark from 2013 set by The Blue in 5:49:36.

Members of the Kluane Drilling Road Runners included Sawyer Adams, Luke Cozens (age nine), Ben Kishchuk, Neil Mikkelsen, Thomas Bakica, Connor Cozens, Naoise Dempsey and captain Isaac O’Brien.

Meanwhile, a Yukon mixed team finished second overall to achieve the top mark in the territory.

Eikelboom Physiotherapy – a team including several former Scarecrow stars – clocked in at 12:00:36.

“It demonstrated the power of a good team effort,” said captain David Eikelboom. “Nine out of our 10 runners finished with top-three times in their leg. We participated as a team and we supported each other all the way through. It was a nice change.”

The 28-year-old also said he drove past each of a black bear, wolf and deer in the dark near the White Pass summit – sightings that startled his team.

While mixed teams took the spotlight this year, Scarecrow did finish third overall – and first in the open category in 12:04:13, a full hour and a half ahead of the runner-up team from Anchorage – Rain Dogs.

In the women’s category, Whitehorse-based Fireballs!! edged Haines’ Mountain Mamas Gone Mad by more than one hour in 15:03:18.

Cabriolet Xcelerators (13:05:18) continued its masters winning streak, snaring victory in the open category, while fellow Yukon team Charlie’s Angels (16:32:27) also defended its title in the masters women’s division.

Juneau’s Still runnin with Glenn took the masters mixed event in 14:33:11.

Sir Lanserlot, a team out of Salcha, Alaska, won the corporate category in 15:00:39.

Whitehorse teams won both shorter walking categories – which also saw participants begin in Carcross – with victories by the four-person Westmark Warrior Walkers (8:36:00) and eight-woman Wobbly Walkers (10:20:27).

The 33rd annual relay featured 174 teams and 1,657 participants in 11 different categories. Competitors ranged in age from nine to 83.

The popular race breaks up the historic Gold Rush trail into 10 legs, distanced between nine and 25.8 km.

The race begins at sea level on the Alaskan coast and climbs more than 1,000 metres in the first two legs.

While some race competitively, scores of others treat the event as a gruelling test of mental and physical endurance.

Many racers wore unique costumes to match their RVs or support vehicles’ unique attire.

As always, Anchorage’s Hot Tub Time Machine was the envy of all runners, as its RV crawled along the South Klondike Highway with a tow-behind trailer fitted with a wood stove-powered hot tub.

For the second straight year, Juneau Empire sports editor Klas Stolpe attempted to complete the route’s entire 176.5 kms in the ultra, but he pulled out at Carcross.

The event got started at sea level in Skagway Friday night and finished Saturday afternoon at Rotary Peace Park in Whitehorse.

Running through the night, racers were treated to a dazzling display of the Northern Lights near Carcross, said Sport Yukon’s race co-ordinator Sandra Freese.

“It was a pretty clean race,” she told the Star. “The weather was fantastic, other than some crazy wind in Skagway and rain on the summit and near Fraser.”

An awards ceremony took place at the park at 5 p.m., followed by a celebratory dance at the High Country Inn.

See Tuesday’s Star for more coverage of the Klondike Road Relay.