Last-minute alterations failed to slow down Team Scarecrow.

The Yukon open men's team repeated as Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay champs by posting a winning time of 11 hours, 44 minutes and 15 seconds over the 176.5-kilometre, 10-leg trek from Skagway on Friday to Whitehorse on Saturday.

Two Juneau teams rounded out the top three of the men's open category: second-place C.C. Striders in 14:18:24 and third-place Rain Dogs in 15:07:14.

"We were much slower than last year, I think, overall,” said Scarecrow captain Simon Lapointe, who missed last year's road relay after competing

in an ultra marathon. "But we're still happy with it, considering.”

Considering.

Lapointe stepped to the helm after former captain Rodney Hulstein was forced out of the 2011 relay due to commitments to grad studies in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Long-time Yukon running staple Stephen Waterreus also backed out of the event shortly before the starting gun.

Losing Hulstein and Waterreus showed in Team Scarecrow's result, which was roughly 24 minutes slower than last year (11:20:56).

But Lapointe said picking up young gun Fabian Brook at the last minute helped pick up the slack.

The Scarecrows found a more-than-capable replacement runner in the 17-year-old competitive cross-country skier.

"(Brooks) is super strong, strong skier and excellent runner, so we were fortunate to find him,” Lapointe said.

As was having Brent Langbakk, who medaled at the Canadian Orienteering Championships held in Whitehorse earlier this summer, run legs two and three.

While the Scarecrows dealt with the absence of two of its stars, the open men's event dropped a level with the absence of Anchorage's Skinny Raven: Take No Prisoners.

Rather than enter an open men's team, Skinny Raven opted to have a go at the mixed category, which they won with a time of 12:27:48.

This was the second-straight year the Anchorage runners failed to field a team in the top category. Until 2010, the Alaskan powerhouse won the open men's class seven years in a row.

Though the Yukoners refused to admit they were disappointed with Skinny Raven's absence, Team Scarecrow was conceived last year to oust the Alaskans from the top spot.

"It would have brought a certain chemistry to the race that would have been more fun,” said Scarecrow Karl Blattmann. "I think, even with the mixed team, it was fairly close. We were definitely watching their times. … It's not like we didn't have any competition at all.

"A lot of us have been running for many years and watched Skinny Raven dominate and thought, ‘We'll give them a run for their money,' so here we are.

"We look forward to them fielding a men's open team. But it's not too disappointing.”

In fact, Lapointe added, the lack of top-level competition in the Skinny Ravens made the event more difficult.”

"It's much better to be runner with faster runners. You always run better when you're with good runners. That was a bit unfortunate. It would have been nice to have a couple other teams to be running with.”