INUVIK
June 20 might not have been the longest night of the year, but it's certain some of the athletes in the Midnight Sun Fun Run might have thought otherwise.

Fraser Pearce was the come-from-behind winner in the half-marathon at the Midnight Sun Fun Run on June 20. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

"It was painful," declared Julienne Chipesia after she completed her race.

"I was struggling," admitted Alfred Moses, who had slowed to a walk by the halfway point of the 10-kilometre race. "I didn't train enough. I was struggling, just in the legs, but it was a good race and a lot of fun."

The annual race - consisting of a five-kilometre, 10-kilometre and half-marathon events - started at 10 p.m. under nearly ideal conditions with a temperature of about 20 C and bright sun.

The half-marathon has the most prestige among the racers, although the others are competitive as well.

While official results weren't available by press time, Fraser Pearce, who is better known in town as a champion-calibre cross-country skier, came from behind to win in the last quarter of the half-marathon, which took the runners out Airport Road almost to the weigh station and back.

Pearce, who had settled comfortably into a steady pace that had kept him in second spot for most of the race, said he didn't figure he had much of a chance to overtake the front-runner until they were near Jak Park on the return leg.

"He had settled into a nice pace, and I thought he was just going to be able to keep it up," said Pearce. "However, near Jak Park he started to slow down a little."

At that point, Pearce had enough "left in the tank" to chase him down a bit further along the course and seize the lead, which he didn't relinquish.

Pearce said he's run many such races, along with shorter distances, although he hadn't been running as much in the last year or so due to the birth of a child with his wife, Diane Wilson.

She ran the 10-km race, although she said she's often run half-marathons. Returning to work, along with the birth of a new son, prevented her from training as much as she might have, she added.

Jullian MacLean, the winner of the 10-km race in 2014, turned in what was likely the most dominating performance of the night.

He finished about a minute off his personal-best performance last year, but still smoked the field.

"My time was about 36:15, and I just went out casual and tried to relax and let my body do what it wanted to do. It felt good, so I just went for it."

"I've got to be honest, when we hit the turnaround and saw there were two people reasonably close, I though I'd go a little harder in the last two kilometres. I had a little more motivation at the end. When I crested hospital hill, I was a little nauseated."

He described the long hill, which presents the biggest obstacle on the course, as a "character-builder."

As was the case last year, well more than 100 people signed up for the race, which is iconic in the Inuvik area.

That's not to say there wasn't some confusion, though. Two runners showed up at Chief Jim Koe Park at 10:30 a.m., believing that's when the run started.

Steve Krug, the organizer of the race, laughed at that mix-up.

"It's like I said, right? People look at you as if you've got four heads when you say you're running a race night under the midnight sun."

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