Logan Roots solidified his position as one of the top junior runners in the territory this past weekend by overpowering the competition in the Yukon River Tail Marathon (YRTM).

The 18-year-old won by nearly 24 minutes, completing the 42.2-kilometre distance in two hours, 50 minutes and 26 seconds.

Roots is no stranger to being at the top of the pack.

Between dominating the local running scene, Roots has also had some strong showings on the Outside in the past year.

He won the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon this past October, leading the 15-19 half-marathon category with a time of 1:17:48.

That time was good enough for 18th overall out of 5,147 runners.

Roots was also on the podium four times this past March in the Arctic Winter Games.

He captured gold in the 10-km and 5-km cross-country snowshoe events and another overall gold for the short distance combined.

He also earned silver for the 4x400 metre relay junior mix.

His time in the Yukon River Trial Marathon was less than five minutes behind the record set by Anchorage-based runner Matias Saari in last years event.

The course has seen some changes over the years with organizers eliminating certain inclines and attempting to keep the route on the trails rather than the road.

Those changes have allowed for faster times, with last year's record shattering the previous standard by nearly 15 minutes.

The YRTM is one of the most unique marathons on the Canadian running schedule, taking runners through breathtaking landscapes including a detour through Miles Canyon.

Trailing Roots was Bryan Hitchock, of Juneau, AK, who finished in 3:14:01.

Hitchcock also placed second in the event in 2010.

Hitchcock is an accomplished runner in his own right, having placed second in the 35-39 age division of the Empire Cup this past June as a member of the Southeast Road Runners.

Rounding out the top of the pack was local runner Scott Williams, who was third with a time of 3:17:45.

On the women's side, Abby Rideout, of Anchorage, AK, captured the women's title in 3:35:27.

Rideout also won her division by a considerable margin, with Whitehorse's Piaa Kukka placing second in a time of 3:50:20.

In a repeat of last year's performance, Whitehorse's Debra Jonasson placed third with a time of 3:50:53.

Lauren Whyte, who has been consistently leading the way in the weekly Tuesday night Intersport Fun Runs was once again at the top of the field in the women's half marathon, finishing with a time of 1:39:28.

Whitehorse's Cynthia Freeman and Michelle Rigoni placed second and third in a sprint finish, with Freeman just edging past Rigoni.

On the men's side, local runners rounded out the top three spots in the half-marathon.

Ian Parker set the pace with a time of 1:28:41, he was followed by Joel Macht and Yanik Freeman.

Less than a minute behind Freeman, was Tom Ullyett who led the way in the 50-59 division.

In the half-walk category, four Whitehorse competitors led the way.

Grace Snider and Kim Porter each arrived at the finish line in a time of 3:37:41 on the women's side, while Philip Gibson led the way on the men's side with a time 2:48:29.

Greg Kent was second in 3:00:19.

In the relay category, Smokin' Paws led female division, a two-person team of local athletes Virginia Sarrazin and Amil Dupuis-Rosi, also known as the Fighting Mongoose in the local roller derby circuit.

Whitehorse teams also placed second and third with M+J Squared=AWD (Janet Clarke and Michelle Christensen-Toews) placing second and DLLM (Meghan Callan, Lecia Kalyn Papenfus, Debbie Higgins and Tammy Reis) placing third.

In the mixed division, the Sullivan Duo, comprised of Mauren and Peter Sullivan placed first in 3:05:08.

Vanboom Racing from Ontario placed second and No Pebble Mine from Quebec placed third.