The Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra has wrapped up for another year.

The last racers came in to the finish line in Dawson on Feb. 16, beating the Feb. 17 deadline.

The Star spoke to race organizer Robert Pollhammer in Dawson in the wee hours of the morning on Feb. 15 prior to three of the racers coming in at the same time.

“Things have been great. We have had one of the best years ever when it comes to the amount of people finishing, which is amazing. It’s just been perfect weather for us. It was cold, but it didn’t go to the extremes, with the coolest we have had is minus 35 in some places, which meant solid trails, thanks to the (Canadian) Rangers and our guys as well

“We also have a lot of race veterans. That helps too. So we have a lot of experienced people in the race, but also some newbies. I have one person in the race I’m particularly happy for. His name is Enrique (Trull Maravilla) from Spain. And I believe it is his sixth time trying to reach this finish line.”

“If I can see him finish, gosh, that’s gonna be so amazing.”

Trull Maravilla did indeed finish in Dawson at 3:35 p.m. on Thursday.

Pollhammer said everybody else is in good spirits.

“We had some problems with windblown trails out there on the way to Dawson. That was hard for our crews and certainly also for the athletes.”

Jessie Gladish came in first on Feb. 12 at 9:21 p.m. According to Pollhammer, she didn’t break the bike record. But she has now done the race to Dawson on foot, skis and of course, fat bike.

“She’s the first woman to achieve this,” stated Pollhammer. “We had an Italian athlete (Enrico Ghidoni) also achieving this a few years back. I think Enrico was about 60 years old or older when he made his final run in this race … we called him the ‘Locomotive.’

“I don’t know if we’re gonna see this again. This is quite unique. It’s certainly unique, the way she does it. Jesse always is (unique). You look at her; we all look more tired than she does when she arrives.”

Pollhammer said athletes like Gladish and Ghidoni are amazing.

“They can push their bikes faster than some people run; and longer.”

The three athletes coming into Dawson were England’s Gareth Hardcastle, Denmark’s Henrik Benzon and John Nakel from Cleveland, Ohio.

“It’s super exciting to see them coming in,” exclaimed Pollhammer.

“Almost everybody in this race has a story to tell. Gareth is one of them. I believe he’s a cancer survivor. Surviving his cancer has got something to do with this race as well. So I’m sure he’s very emotional. And very happy to be here with us.”

Pollhammer added, “It’s super exciting to share the Dawson City finish line with the Quest as well. That’s a first.

“Just excited and happy to be back. Looking forward to the next couple of days.”

The three Ultra athletes arrived at 1:56 a.m. last Wednesday. Benzon said it was “an incredible experience. So many beautiful sceneries. A lot of ups and downs mentally. It’s a really tough race. So, reaching the finish line is incredible. It’s an achievement. I’m really proud of myself.”

Benzon said he was looking forward to coming in out of the cold.

“Being outside 10 days in this cold is hard. It’s hard to be out in the wilderness for so many days in these cold conditions. So I’m looking forward to coming in; get some heat in my body.”

Nakel said it was a long trip from Cleveland, but he was feeling good overall.

“A little tired and hungry but overall it was an awesome experience. Just seeing the beautiful Yukon – it was amazing.”

Nakel added he was “very fortunate to experience it all the first time out here, so very happy with that.”

He was also looking forward to seeing more of Dawson City in the next few days.

Hardcastle said he was “feeling really good. It’s literally a dream come true. I’ve wanted to do this event for – I did the 300 in 2019, didn’t want to turn around at Pelly Farm. I wanted to carry on and come and see Dawson. So, really, really excited.”

When asked if completing the Ultra 430 was his ultimate achievement so far, Hardcastle replied “Well, my wife tells me it’s a long walk in the snow. Basically just walking and being fed at checkpoints is not really a challenge. The challenge is staying at home with three children.”

Hardcastle said he’s raising money for a charity for bowel cancer – Recession for Treatment to Bowel Cancer.

“It’s been a good cause from that point of view as well. A good experience and keeps me sane.

“I did have an early-stage tumour in 2019 removed but thankfully it was caught at a very early stage but a good friend of mine sadly passed away. Then when I was having my investigations my manager at work actually was diagnosed at the same time. So it was just amazing when you have these conversations, I suppose something that’s considered a fairly taboo subject – people in the UK get sent free tests through the post and throw them in the (garbage) bin, so if I can do anything to raise awareness for that, then that’s a good thing as well.”

Hardcastle said there’s lots of things to draw inspiration on when slogging through the snow.

“I think just thinking about family. There aren’t many moments in life where you can truly be in the moment and switch off, you can’t be influenced by the outside world.

“When you’re out there, you realize what’s important is your family and loved ones. Really when you strip everything away, money, everything else, what matters in the heart is your health and your loved ones. So that’s what the trail brings to me, is just that perspective and appreciation for those smaller things in life but the most important things.”