This year may have marked the Scarecrows' first, but there was no shortage of experience.

The newly formed all-star team from Whitehorse won the open men's category of the Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay in a time of 11:20.56. The C.C. Striders finished second with a time of 14:28.52, while La Bamba placed third in 15:06.48.

Rodney Hulstein spearheaded the effort to pull the city's top runners together for the 176.5-kilometre relay.

"We've talked about it for a long time, maybe six years or so, and this year it was a reality, so it was awesome to see it all come together,” said Hulstein, who ran legs one and 10.

"The running community here isn't super large, so you kind of know who's got talent, and I just went around and asked to see if anyone was interested; we got lots of interest and put it together about a month or two before the race.”

Teammate Brent Langbakk said adding another dimension to a typically individual sport was exciting.

"We're in individual sports but it's cool to do this as a team event, because I'm equally excited about how my teammates did,” Langbakk said.

"You're kind of out there on your own; it's still about trying to get the most out of yourself.”

Langbakk ran leg nine in a time of 1:06.57. Keeping pace within a pack is somewhat easier to gauge, rather than hoofing it alone, he added.

"But when you're just out there scooting along, it's easy to slack off, but we didn't, the guys were pushing the whole way,” Langbakk said, adding that the conditions this year were tricky.

"It was like four seasons in one leg: it started out cold, then the sun came out and it warmed up, and then I ran through a rain shower, and I got really cold and wet, and then at the end it sort of cleared up, there were rainbows and the sun was poking out. Strange weather, but par for the course.”

Hulstein said he'll be looking to keep the team together for next year's relay.

"I'm glad we pulled it together and I'm looking forward to next year already,” Hulstein said.