The Yellowknife Marathon may not be a huge marathon, but it sure is a great race that is very well organized for an event of this size. Yellowknife is a lovely small city of about 20,000 on the shores of the huge Great Slave Lake well north of the 60th parallel. Its relatively short history is in gold mining and it is the capital city of the Northwest Territories; however, these days it's diamonds, government, and tourism that are the mainstays of the economy of YK. I'd run the YK Marathon once previously in 1995, so the 2006 race was my first time in 11 years. Lots of changes during that time, and all for the better!!

The race organizers are from the YK Multisport Club and the event is co-hosted my Overlander Sports - a great outdoors store located in the city's small "downtown" section. The entry fee was only $55, which included a nice long-sleeve shirt and a meal at the local Boston Pizza the night before the race. Good chance to meet some other runners, load up on pasta, and get mentally ready. The course consisted of 2 loops of a figure 8 that took the runner through the older parts of Yellowknife along Great Slave Lake and then around some of the newer business/shopping sections. It also heavily featured a great biking/running/walking/hiking trail around Frame Lake and visits to the Legislative Assembly of the Government of the NWT and through an arch that consists of all the flags of Canada's provinces and territories, plus each community of the NWT. Aid stations feature enthusiastic volunteers, but don't expect a lot of spectators along the way. The course is not exactly flat - no huge hills however.

The 2006 edition featured about 32 runners in full marathon, 45 in half marathon, 6 teams of 4 doing the marathon by relay, and then quite a few folk doing a 10KM walk/run - so over 100 people in all. The organizers are to be commended for putting together a fun and efficient race. The YK Marathon is well worth the trip for anybody who has ever had a curiosity about Canada's north and would like to run a good race during a visit. There's LOTS to see and do in and around Yellowknife and Great Slave Lake - even those of us from smaller and more northerly communities in NWT like to visit YK. :-) I'll certainly be back to run the YK Marathon before another 11 years pass by. This was my 24th marathon - previous in Canada from Nfld to BC, USA, and Ireland.

I knew that I could run a good half, but had only run 30 km once before changing my entry to the full marathon. I may never have had another chance to run this marathon again, much less a chance to win it. I traveled to Yellowknife a month before the race to work on an assignment. At the last moment I changed my mind (this race is small enough it would allow this) and informed the race director, on the day of the race, that I would run the full marathon. I was first overall in a time of 3:07 and change.

Yellowknife is an interesting historic site and is significant for its gold mining in the early days of the gold rush. In town there are many reminders of its history and geography. Canadian bush pilots risked their lives to make aviation history by flying into the North under harsh winter conditions. There is lots of evidence of this in the old part of town. Take your camera too. The view from Pilot's Monument is beautiful. The working people are really friendly and the local native folk pretty much stay to themselves. There is a northern heritage center as well which is a must visit for any newcomer. If you can take a tour of Canada's Road to the North you will soon discover the Canadian Shield. The road was a politically debated project of the 1950's and was scrapped due to rising costs, and the engineering challenges that it faced, which made the road very difficult to construct. Many of the mining company sites still stand today along the highway. Today it is the only road heading north from town to a number of small lakes that are great for fishing. Days that last forever make it the perfect getaway route for cottaging and camping in the summer months.

The course is shaped like a figure 8, doing it twice. The weather can be very nice for late August or you could have a wind and rain with wind chill being close to freezing. People are very freindly. It is a small but very well organized marathon.