Perfect running conditions highlighted the year's second Intersport run and walk race event, which are held every Tuesday night in Riverdale.

With temperatures in the mid teens and the sun shining down, many of the competitors were in full spring mode, dressing in both shorts and T-shirts for the event.

"It was really the nicest race we have had all year," said Chris Locke, president of Athletics Yukon. "Everybody has their shorts and T-shirts on. Spring is officially here."

The 5-km run and walk has been held for more than 20 years. The series is put on by Athletics Yukon and features three different courses that participants can enter.

Forty people participated in Tuesday's competition. The run averages between 35 and 60 people every week, depending on weather conditions

The longest distance is the 5-km discipline, which begins at F.H. Collins and follows the sidewalk north to a turnoff point, which is by the skateboard park.

From there the course cuts over onto the Millennium Trail and follows the path all the way to the top parking lot, which is just to the east of the dam.

All individuals participating in the 5-km race must touch the big triangular shaped rock at the top of the hill.

After reaching the top of the hill, the course turns around and comes back down onto Lewes Boulevard and finishes back at F.H. Collins

The 3-km and 2.5-km courses also have the same starting point, but are both marked along the Millennium Trail, which signals the turnoff.

With the exception of the Tuesday closest to June 21, all races in the Intersport 5-km run and walk competition are held at F.H. Collins.

Participation in the Tuesday race series cost $2 for all members of Athletics Yukon, while non-members pay $4.

All race entries can choose to sign up in the walk or run category for the three different distances, which are timed for both events. Drinks are also supplied courtesy of Athletics Yukon to all participants who take part in the race series.

There are no prizes that can be won at individual race events, but Athletics Yukon does give out awards at the end of the running season.

In the past, these prizes have included plaques that acknowledge individual achievements, such as a runner's hard work, dedication or improved time.

Participating in his first Intersport race of 2008, Rodney Hulstein, 21, ran away, both literally and figuratively, with the competition in the 5-km running event.

He finished two minutes and five seconds ahead of the next fastest time, completing the course at 16:49.

Hulstein, who has been a member of Brock University's cross country running team for the past four years, ran the first 2-km at a "leisurely" pace along with Nathan Doering and Robin Urquhart.

Not long after the 2-km mark, Hulstein took it into another gear, separating himself from the field to run away with the race.

Hulstein, who has been participating in the Tuesday race series since he was 13 years old, said he was happy with his time.

"It wasn't too bad," he said. "I wasn't trying to go really fast or anything and I just felt better than I thought I would, so I went a little harder."

He said he hopes to get his time down into the 15-minute range for the 5-km race.

The lowest time Hulstein has ever posted at the Intersport race was around 16:08, but he is confident that the training he did during the off-season will help him break the 16-minute mark for the first time.

A long term goal of Holstein's is to qualify for the 2009 Canada Summer Games for cross-country running.

"That is the longest term goal," he said. "As long as I keep training I think I will qualify and if I could pull off a good time down there then I would be happy."

Hulstein said participating in the Intersport race is a good training exercise and he encourages others to come out and take part.

"It is a great way to stay active," he said.

"The more people we have out there the better it is. If we could see more of Whitehorse out here that would be great."

Other finishers on the men's side for the 5-km run included Nathan Doering, who bested his previous week's time by an incredible 90 seconds.

Doering also improved his final standing in the 5-km run by placing second at the event with an overall time of 18:55.

Not far behind was Robin Urquhart, who crossed the finish line at 19:13 to lock down third place, while Stephen Dynes, the winner of last week's trail run, was the fourth runner to finish in the men's category with a time of 19:45.

There was a change in the guard on the female side, with the top two finishers in last week's women's 5-km run, Sue Bogle and Melissa O'Brien, not competing.

Josieann Markley won bragging rights for the next seven days, securing first place with her time of 21:41.

Just over a minute behind Markley was Chantai Minet, who finished at 22:49, locking down sole possession of second in the standings.

Megan Phillips rounded out the top three at 24:34 and Anissa Guenfoud placed fourth with a time of 25:41.

For the second week in a row, a very determined Ruth Hall showed up all competitors in the walking category with her first place time of 34:35.

Hall crossed the finish line just 10 seconds ahead of masters walker Arlene Ogden 34:45, in what was one of the more thrilling finishes at the race event.

Within seconds of Ogden's time were two masters walkers on the male side, being Philip Gibson, 34:51, and Rick Griffiths, 34:58.

This group of four, plus fifth place finalist Tanya Astika, kept pace with each other, walking at a fast tempo for 3-km.

Then, with just 2-km to go, the pace of the group picked up and the five raced the last 2 km at a pulse-pounding rate.

Griffiths, whose time earned him a fourth place finish, said his main goals in the race series are to continue to better his own time and not fall too far behind the female competition, which he admitted happens quite a bit at the Intersport Tuesday events.

"(The ladies) lulled us in and having duped us, they left us behind," he said, commenting about the performance of the female competition on Tuesday.

"They have excellent technique. The whole package as it were; just their whole technique is superior."

He said there are a few reasons he competes in the walking category.

"Walking is a more companionable activity," he said. "I am an ex-runner and walking is less stressful on the joints. That's why I turned to walking."

Griffiths, whose finish on Tuesday was slightly slower than what he recorded last week, blamed the loss of time on old age.

"That extra week has made a real difference," he joked. "I feel the weight on my shoulders."

Locke, who finished in seventh place at 21:16, said it is important for Athletics Yukon to hold the Tuesday race series.

"It's just a great community event and as a lot of running clubs, throughout the world for that matter, everybody likes to host a weekly get together," he said.

"It's a social outing that we all enjoy.

We have a lot of walkers, we have kids, we got a lot of older people, so it is very much a community event."