Ray Sabo was well ahead of the pack.

Despite taking an early turn – which he made up later by doubling up the portion of the course he cut on his first lap – Sabo ran to victory in the open men's category of the Yukon Cross Country Championships with a time of 38 minutes, 27 seconds.

"On the second lap I just asked the ladies if I could run that section twice,” Sabo said. "It was good. I just got back from a moose hunt late last night, and I was in the bush for two days, so it was nice to stretch my legs out here today.”

Twenty-three runners over 12 age groups – from five years old to 60+ – braved the crisp afternoon to compete in the Yukon Championships at Mount McIntyre on Sunday.

This year's championships differed from last year in two important respects: the course was completely different and there was no snow on the ground.

Due to construction, which has closed the Olympic Trail, the races started and finished at the cross-country ski club's wax room in the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.

Junior runners did a one-kilometre loop through the ski stadium. Senior runners did up to five laps of the two-kilometre course, which brought competitors through the ski stadium and over Telemark Hill, a steep incline preceded by another hurdle similar in stature.

"It challenges your lung capacity, it lets you know what your VO2 max is, it lets you know what your maxim heart rate is, and it's also quite a challenge on your calve muscles and your quads, because you're pushing,” said Tom Ullyett, winner of the 50-59 masters division with a time of 35:09 over eight kilometers (or four laps).

"I was laying in bed this morning thinking, ‘Oh my God, who is the fool that chose this course? Telemark Hill is going to be the death of us.'

"It's kind of like the story about bagpipes: the sign of a true gentleman or gentlewoman is someone who knows how to play the bagpipes but doesn't. And so somebody that knows about Telemark Hill and does not put it into a race course (is a gentleman or gentlewoman),” Ullyett joked. "But I guess they were looking for something different and we certainly got it.”

Maura Sullivan reveled in the new conditions.

And it showed.

In her first Yukon Championships, Sullivan ran four laps of the course to victory in the 20-39 open women's category with a time of 33:03 over eight kilometers.

"There were two big hills,” Sullivan said. "The one before Telemark Hill was almost just as steep. But I love running on trails, so that part's fine, and I like running on hills. I like going up more than I do going down.

"My legs feel better than they would on a five km on the road. They don't feel as sore afterwards. And it's a nice day, good run.”

Sullivan, who lives in Takhini, runs the Mount McIntyre trails often, she said.

"I run here as much as I can, a couple days a week anyway, so I thought I'd get a run in today.”

Joel Macht, the open men's second-place winner with a time of 44:41, called running Telemark Hill five times "really tough.”

"There were two fairly stiff hills really close to one another, so they really broke it up and made it difficult,” Macht said.

"It really takes the snap out of the legs going up it once, so eventually I was running half of it and walked the last half, just to keep the heart rate down.”

This summer, Macht ran in the Yukon River Trail Marathon and the Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay with team Hurry Hard.

Immediately following the race on Sunday, Macht hadn't heard of Sabo's slip.

But Macht brushed it off as a non-incident.

"After going up Telemark the first time, I didn't see him again for the rest of the run,” Macht said.

"He's certainly a strong athlete. One of the strongest in the territory. It's great to see him come out.”

Ullyett took the opportunity to rib Sabo, noting that the younger runner had a similar misstep in the 2010 Chocolate Claim Pre-Skagway 10-Miler.

"But nobody can doubt his running credentials. Just look what he did on leg eight in the Klondike Road Relay with Scarecrow.”

As a member of Team Scarecrow – which won the open men's category of the Klondike Road Relay – Sabo finished his leg top of the pack in 1:11:41.

The last time he ran in a Yukon Championships was roughly five years ago, Sabo said, on the old route.

"I really liked (this year's trail),” Sabo said.

"It was a good course. Compared to the old course, there's not as much sand, and I really liked the rolling hills, Telemark Hill,” said Sabo, who has been attending university in Alaska but will be in Whitehorse this winter to be a member of Team Yukon's cross-country ski team.

"Running at university the last five years, cross-country races were run on grass and parks, really flat, so it's a real plus to have this course.”

Complete race results from Sunday are as follows:

Male

5-7 years, 1 km

1. Noah Connell 6:21

2. Mathias Frostad 06:47

3. Simon Connell 07:10

8-10 years, 1 km

1. Thomas Bakica 4:37

2. Andrew Roberts 4:47

3. Ewan Halliday 4:54

12-13 years (bantam), 2 km

1. Luke Bakica 9:37

2. Alex Roberts 10:18

20-39 years (open), 10 km

1. Ray Sabo 38:27

2. Joel Macht 44:41

3. Michael Lemmon 47:18

4. Ben Yu Schott 48:59

40-49 years (masters), 8 km

1. Fraser Roberts 40:11

50-59 years (masters), 8 km

1. Tom Ullyett 35:09

2. Scott Gilbert 36:20

3. Francis Whiteman 44:06

60+ years (masters), 6 km

1. Grant Macdonald 38:46

Female

5-7 years, 1 km

1. Lisa Freeman 6:12

20-39 years (open), 8 km

1. Maura Sullivan 33:03

40-49 years, (masters), 6 km

1. Christine Smith 31:43

2. Anne Copeland 41:27

50-59 years (masters), 6 km

1. Brenda Dion 34:52

60+ years (masters), 4 km

1. Shiela Senger 27:54