It was harder than expected, but all 19 participants in Thursday's trail run made it to the finish line.

The run, held along the bluff by the Education Building, was a little longer and feature a more rugged terrain than originally anticipated.

"I said it was flat, but really actually it was kind of hard to get away from the hills," said Thursday trail running organizer Nancy Thomson. "Apparently my name was taken in vain up some of the hills, but that's OK, I have big shoulders.

"Now that people have come out and got the first one under their belt and they have done their hills, they can say ‘OK, I have got that out of the way, I have done it.'"

The course wasn't too challenging for Rodney Hulstein, who placed first with a time of 31:30.

The second best time was posted by Darren Holcombe, who finished the approximately six-km course at 36:30.

Sandro Holzinger finished two seconds behind Holcombe to take third place, while Thomson posted the fourth best time. Her time was 37:53 and was tops among the female participants.

Sue Bogle rounded out the top five, crossing the finish line at 38:04.

This week's run made its way out towards Long Lake and turned around just before reaching it.

Thomson said even with the clouds and cooler weather it was still a beautiful run. Runners could not only take in a scenic view of Whitehorse and the Yukon River, but also the crocuses, which were in full bloom.

This is the third season for the Thursday night trail run. Thomson said there were a few new faces, in addition to some of the regulars.

"Some people who are running are starting to bring their partners with them, who haven't been runners before," she said. "So that is kind of encouraging, it's neat to see. It's good to see young, really competitive runners, like Rodney come out. He sort of sets the bar."

The age range on Thursday varied from participants in their late teens to senior citizens. Thomson said there was also a good mix of male and female runners.

"It's really evenly mixed and lots of runners in their 40s and 50s, but then a whole bunch of these younger runners in their 20s and 30s," she said. "So it's kind of cool, I like it."

In addition to water and orange juice, Thomson said she also brought more than 30 whistles that were given out to participants in case they got lost or had any trouble.

The whistles were theirs to keep.

"It's good to have that precaution," she said. "Some people were quite happy to get them. One woman this was her first trail run and she said: ‘I will always have this with me and I will feel good that I have it,' so that's good to know."

Next week's run will be at Long Lake, which Thomson said is about 7.5-km. She said because of the hills and distance it is a moderate difficulty.