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Extreme Paddling: Yukon River Quest Kicks Off Today Print E-mail
Written by Peter Kray / MtnPressWorld.com   
Wednesday, 24 June 2009 07:03

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory (Mtn Press)-The final race roster is set for the 11th annual Yukon River Quest, which will begin today, June 24 in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This year’s field will feature 79 teams with 172 paddlers from all over the world – including several past champions – in what should be a competitive event.

The Yukon River Quest is the longest annual canoe and kayak race in the world. Except for two mandatory rest stops totaling 10 hours, paddlers race non-stop over approximately 740 kilometers (460 miles) to Dawson City. Held annually in the north during the last week of June (around the summer solstice), it is a true “Race to the Midnight Sun”. The YRQ is widely recognized now as one of the toughest ultra marathon paddling events on the planet, where the world’s best paddlers gather to compete.

A segment on the 2008 race was featured on NBC-TV’s Jeep World of Adventure Sports on Saturday, June 6, and was seen by an estimated one million viewers.

For the 2009 event, teams will compete for a record $36,000 in prize money in various categories, but most do the race for the personal satisfaction of staking his/her claim to a coveted finisher pin.

The YRQ has grown in popularity since its gold rush centennial beginnings over a decade ago. This year’s field is down slightly from last year’s record participation.

"We are very pleased to see that the number of teams this year (80) is very close to last year’s number (89), even in this economic situation,” said Jean-Francois Latour, president of the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association in Whitehorse.

Eight countries will be represented this year. Coming from outside North America are paddlers from Australia, Austria, Great Britain, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. The USA will be represented with paddlers from Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Finally, Canada will have team members from Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the host Yukon Territory, which has 28 paddlers in the race.

“Combined with the predicted high water levels of the river, we can anticipate a challenge to the course record of 39 hours, 32 minutes and 43 seconds,” Latour said, adding that the start has moved off Main Street this year, making it a shorter run for paddlers.

“We invite spectators to gather in Rotary Peace Park this year as early as 11 a.m. on Wednesday June 24 to witness the very spectacular start of this race when participants will cover a short distance running to their boats before paddling the 740 km that will take them to Dawson City sometime between Friday afternoon on June 26 and Saturday evening at midnight on June 27, official finish time for the race.”

Complete team bios are online at www.yukonriverquest.com