The finish line at the 23rd annual Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay was starting to look more like a comic-book hero convention Saturday afternoon, as the runners made their way into Rotary Peace Park in downtown Whitehorse.

Spiderman, Batman, Batwomen and Joe Chicken were just some of the superheros who turned out in full force this year, hoping for maybe a little magic to help them in their road relay quests.

'I steal the show,' laughed Joe Chicken, A.K.A. Scott Braley. 'Definitely, the Chicken would take the rest of them.'

Joe Chicken is the mascot for Team Chicken Run which has been competing in the road relay for the past several years, although it's only the second year the team ñ� made up of members of the Alaska National Guard has featured a mascot.

Every member of Chicken Run was fully decked out in garb, including Batman and a 70's businessman.

'We're here to have fun and party hard,' said Braley. 'With the emphasis on party.'

Braley believes Joe Chicken may have played a role in the sudden influx of mascots this year, with the attention Chicken Run received in the 2004 relay. Pictures of the team appeared in numerous newspapers, as well as on CNN.com.

'I think it might have made people think, Hey, he has a costume, why can't I?' It's a lot of fun.'

While the superheros certainly provided some entertainment, they were no match on the course for Take No Prisoners. The Anchorage crew took the overall title for the fourth year in a row, shaving more than half an hour off of last year's time, crossing the finish line in 10 hours and 56 minutes.

The closest team to Take No Prisoners was the masters mixed squad Peak Performers I, of Anchorage, who clocked in at 12 hours, 19 minutes and 10 seconds. Whitehorse's Bi-Squatches came in second behind the Prisoners in the Open category, with a time of 14:17:11.

'Our team did actually pretty well,' said Bi-Squatches' Marcus Waterreus, who ran Leg 2 of the relay. 'We had a lot of fun doing it.'

The members of Bi-Squatches got thrown together just a few weeks before the race, said Waterreus, but most of them were familiar with each other, since they are all fairly active members of the community.

'I think it's a good northern event,' said Waterreus of the annual relay. 'It brings a lot of people from the North together and it's nice to see a good mix of Alaskans and Yukoners.'

Waterreus spent a few years in Fairbanks, where he attended university, so he knows firsthand how good a lot of the runners from Alaska are. Asked if he knows of any up-and-coming runners in the Yukon who may be able to overtake the four-time defending champions in the next few years, he said it would be tough.

'I think there's a different culture in Alaska,' he explained. 'Athletics is quite big there and running is quite big.

'Given we're such a small population ... the only way someone else could win, I think, is if they come from Vancouver or Victoria, or somewhere like that. (Take No Prisoners is) pretty dominating, that's for sure.'

Braley said it may take another Alaskan to overcome Take No Prisoners, which is made up of at least a few different runners every year, but he's confident it can be done eventually.

'The record in their category is held by someone else (The Juneau 'B' Team, from Auke Bay, AK.) which means someone has beat them before, so I'm sure someone can do it again,' he smiled.

Seventy-eight of the 139 teams entered in this year's road relay were from Alaska and the American state dominated the final standings, placing first in every category except for the walkers.

Juneau's Hard Women Are Good To Find finished first in the women's division, with a time of 15:04:44, while Vestigial Appendages, also of Juneau, was tops in the mixed category, with a time of 12:35:00. It was their third year in a row at the top.

Juneau's Sole Train claimed first place in the masters open division, with a time of 15:28:00, while Lady Gudiva of Douglas reclaimed their masters women title, for the fifth year in a row, with a time of 13:20:05.

Lady Gudiva set a new masters women record this year, beating last year's time by more than 20 minutes.

Peak Performers I repeated as masters mixed champions, for the third year in a row, with a time of 12:19:10, bettering their final time from last year's race by more than 20 minutes.

In the corporate division, it was once again Skinny Raven, which has won that category for the past four years. They posted a time of 14:17:40, shaving more than 23 minutes off of their time in 2004.

The Chocolate Claim Walking Nutbars were the lone Whitehorse team to finish first in their category, beating out 12 other walking teams with a final time of 9:09:19 over four Legs.

Here are the full results, with the top ten teams and their home city listed in each category:

Open

1. Take No Prisoners, Anchorage, 10:56:00

2. Bi-Squatches, Whitehorse, 14:17:11

3. Provisional Balls, Juneau, 15:19:30

4. Shin Sprints, Juneau, 15:28:27

5. Eat & Run, Juneau, 17:06:29

6. The Frail of '98, Whitehorse, 17:14:29

7. Still Chuggin', Whitehorse, 17:52:13

8. Fly-by-Night Running Club, Mayo, 18:27:26

Women

1. Hard Women Are Good To Find, Juneau, 15:04:44

2. Dos Equis XX, Whitehorse, 15:24:42

3. The Xtratufs, Juneau, 15:25:08

4. Fast Women...And We Run Too!, Juneau, 15:32:26

5. Tutshi Trekkers, Whitehorse, 15:55:28

6. Women on the Edge (of the Road), Anchorage, 16:08:13

7. Murraya's Mixed Bag, Whitehorse, 16:36:07

8. Medicine Chest Pharmacy,

Whitehorse, 16:38:39

1. Shaken Not Stirred, Juneau, 16:44:18

2. Pine Dental Tooth Fairies,

Whitehorse, 17:14:50

Mixed

1. Vestigial Appendages, Juneau, 12:35:00

2. W.A.F.A.P.L.U., Anchorage, 12:39:04

3. 12 Gauge, Anchorage, 13:34:12

4. Peak Peformers II, Anchorage, 13:50:10

5. Team Jagnation, Anchorage, 14:13:28

6. WCW, Anchorage, 14:22:12

7. Beats of Burden, Anchorage, 14:34:19

8. S.L.U.T.S., Anchorage, 14:38:07

9. Ahtrii Kit Aagal, Whitehorse, 14:58:49

10. Rag-Tag Fleet, Juneau, 15:19:29

Masters Open

1. Sole Train, Juneau, 15:28:00

2. Rotary Rusting Running Relics, Petersburg, 17:19:15

Masters Women

1. Lady Gudiva, Douglas, AK., 13:20:05

2. Do Not Go Gentle, Minnetonka, MINN., 17:53:30

3. Are We There Yet?, Whitehorse, 18:47:42

Masters Mixed

1. Peak Performers I, Anchorage, 12:19:10

2. The Classics, Anchorage, 12:23:32

3. Peak Performers III, Anchorage, 16:05:55

4. The Great Pretenders, Juneau, 16:16:08

5. North of Fifty, Whitehorse, 16:51:32

6. Aches R Us, Klawock, AK., 17:05:27

Corporate

1. Skinny Raven Sports, Anchorage, 14:17:40

2. Horny Goats, Vancouver, 14:21:55

3. Fat Crows Still Chasing Skinny Ravens, Sitka, AK., 14:54:40

4. Team Chicken Run, Anchorage, 15:21:36

5. On the Line 649, Whitehorse, 15:29:29

6. Art's SEARHC Party, Juneau, 15:45:52

7. Arctic War Runners, Anchorage, 15:46:38

8. Miller Thomson & Friends,

Whitehorse, 16:00:18

1. National Parks & Wrecks,

Anchorage, 16:07:17

1. flyairnorth.com, Whitehorse, 16:20:56

Walkers

1. Chocolate Claim Walking Nutbars, Whitehorse, 9:09:19

2. Blistered Souls, Whitehorse, 9:15:30

3. Walk This Way, Whitehorse, 9:38:07

4. Aurora Ambulators, Whitehorse, 9:40:22

5. EBA-Engineered to Walk,

Whitehorse, 10:06:55

1. Team Survivor-Hear Me Roar,

Douglas, AK., 10:36:21

1. Team Survivor-Fit To Walk,

Douglas, AK., 10:48:19

1. Team Survivor-Walking to Win, Douglas, AK., 10:56:11

2. Bunions-R-Us, Whitehorse, 11:38:06

3. Survival of the Feet Test,

Whitehorse, 11:38:06

See more results, pg. 19.