Trail enthusiasts were in heaven on Saturday for the annual Whitehorse Dry Tri.

For a third straight year, the running and mountain biking event was held at Takhini Hot Springs, which offers race staff the perfect venue.

"It's a great venue," said Ian Parker, one of the Dry Tri's race crew members. "There are some great trails, we have this fantastic start and finish barbecue area. I think it has actually been a well kept secret over the years. It's a little bit out of town, but people don't seem to mind."

The Dry Tri is similar to a standard triathlon, but instead of swimming, the race begins and ends with a running discipline, Parker said.

"It's an off-road duathlon, but we wanted to promote the idea that it's a triathlon for non-swimmers," he said laughing.

The race has both a separate track for both running and mountain biking. It begins with one running lap (approximately four-km), it then switches to a 14-km bike (three laps), before ending with two more running laps.

Participants have the option of completing the race as a soloist or on a team (two or three). The majority of Saturday's more than 40 competitors were on a two-person team, Parker said.

Soloists included around 12 men and about five women.

Despite the extra work, it was a soloist who ended up finishing with the top time. Contagious Mountain Bike director Jonah Clark placed first with a time of 1:33:50.

He said it was the biking section that gave him the lead that he didn't give up for the remainder of the race.

"I don't run regularly, so it's a bit of a stretch to run that far, but I can do it one day," he said.

Clark caught the two individuals ahead of him about halfway through the first biking lap. From there he said he was able to put some time on them.

"I think I put about five minutes into them, which allowed me to run comfortably for the last two laps," he said.

Despite having the lead the first lap, he said the first lap running after the bike portion was tough because of his legs were a little shaky.

"The first lap is tough especially the first half when you get off the bike because your legs feel really weird," Clark said.

His legs were so shaky on that fist lap that it resulted in him taking a bit of a tumble, but Clark was able to get back up and didn't lose a great deal of time.

There were prizes for first finishers in each category, which were donated by the events sponsors.

Sponsors included Yukon Brewing, Icycle Sports, Contagious Mountain Bike Club, Coast Mountain Sports, Sportslife, Alpine Bakery, Bean North Coffee Roasters and the Deli.

This year's Dry Tri also raised money for the Whitehorse Food Bank, giving people the option of making a donation.

Whatever profit it makes will be given to the food bank as well, Parker said.

Other upcoming trail races include one being held by the Contagious Mountain Bike Club.

The race is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. For more information visit the group's web site at www.cmbcyukon.ca.

Top Dry Tri results include:

Open Women:

1. Denise McHale (1:41:28)

2. Laura Salmon (1:57:40)

3. Megan Phillips (2:12:18)

4. Lesley Vandermaas (2:17:15)

Open Men:

1. Jonah Clark (1:33:50)

2. Scott Weersink (1:34:28)

3. Greg McHale (1:36:27)

4. Brett Weersink (1:41:36)

5. Doug Mayr (1:44:34)

Masters Women:

1. Joyce Kashman (2:27:10)

Masters Men:

1. Rob Legare (1:59:45)

2. Dan Reimer (2:00:38)

Mixed Team:

1. A Runner and a Roadie (Derrick Hynes, Sue Bogle) (1:41:33)

Women's Team:

1. Generation Gap (Nancy Thomson, Kelsey Kabanak) (1:45:45)