Yukon River Quest Race Report From Robyn Benincasa

The Yukon River Quest took place a few weeks back, with dozens of top endurance paddlers descending on Whitehorse, in the Canadian Yukon, to make the 460 mile run along the Yukon River to Dawson City. The annual event is one of the top paddling races of the year, offering up plenty of great competition and spectacular scenery, along one of North America's best river ways.

Racing in this year's event was Robyn Benincasa, one of the best adventure racers and endurance athletes around. Robyn has filed an excellent race report over at Adventure World Magazine in which she talks about her own win in the women's solo category, as well as the impressive showing from the rest of her Merrell/Akali teammates.

Robyn does a great job of sharing what it is like to sit in the cockpit of kayak for more than two days (her winning time was officially 51 hours, 43 minutes), while managing your eating schedule, staying focused on paddling, and trying not to get to cramped up in a boat she had rented the day before the race. Nothing she hasn't seen before however, as she is one of the most decorated adventure racers in history.

In the end, Robyn says she may have found a new sport that calls to her adventurous spirit, and obviously she's off to a great start, winning the first endurance paddle she entered. It certainly doesn't hurt that it's easier on the hips than Primal Quest, huh Robyn? ;)

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Yukon Quest: Hans Gatt Claims Victory!

The 2010 Yukon Quest has come to an end, with musher Hans Gatt reaching the finish line in Whitehorse on Monday afternoon. Gatt finished the 1000 mile long race from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory of Canada, in nine days and 26 minutes, setting a record in the process.

For the 51-year old Gatt, this is his fourth victory in the Yukon Quest, tying him with Lance Mackey, who came in second place, a little over an hour back. Hugh Neff completed the podium, arriving in third place, nearly three hours off of Gatt's pace. Complete results can be found on the leaderboard, and as of this writing, there are still several teams out on the course and making their way to the finish.

Yesterday, less than 24-hours after his record breaking win, Gatt announced that he'll retire from long distance sled dog racing at the end of this season. He is planning to make one more long run with his team, competing in the 1160 mile long Iditarod which is schedule to get underway on March 6. After that, he'll continue to race, but only at shorter, less demanding events.

You can't blame the guy for wanting to retire. Being out on a 1000+ mile long course in the dead of the Alaskan/Canadian winter has to take it's toll on a person. He's also proven himself several times over in the Yukon Quest. I'm sure he'd like to add the Iditarod championship to his resume before he bows out however. Congratulations to Hans and good luck in the "Last Great Race" in a few weeks time.

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Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race Begins Tomorrow!

We're less than 24-hours away from the start of the Yukon Quest, the annual 1000 mile long sled dog race that runs from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, located in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The two week long event gets underway tomorrow morning, with the starting line on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks. From there, the trail will wander off into the remote wilderness, following an old mail route that was used during the Gold Rush era.

The official list of mushers currently has 24 names on it, including former champ, and sled dog legend, Lance Mackey, who is returning to the race after electing to not run in it last year. Mackey is the three time defending champ of the Iditarod as well, and back in 2007, he came the first person to win both the Yukon Quest and that race, in the same year.

Over the next few weeks, the mushers, and their sled dog teams, will be enduring some challenging conditions. It is notoriously cold in the Yukon, Fairbanks is currently -10ºF and Whitehorse is hovering around 0º as well. Blizzards can strike the region at any time, with high winds causing whiteout conditions. And yet these men, and their amazing dogs, will be out there anyway, doing what they love. You've got to respect that! For a very cool flyover of the Yukon Quest trail, powered by Google Earth, click here.

Should be a great race and a nice prelude to the Iditarod, which gets underway in 28 days.

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Sebastian Schnuelle Wins 2009 Yukon Quest

I'm a couple days late on this one, but on Tuesday, Sebastian Schnuelle crossed the finish line in Fairbanks, Alaska, to claim the 2009 Yukon Quest championship. He was followed closely by Hugh Neff, who finished just four minutes back, which is quite remarkable in a race that is over 1000 miles in length. Musher Jon Little arrived in third place, another 1 hour and 4 minutes behind.

The Yukon Quest is one of the top sled dog racing events in the world, and is held annually between Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, and Fairbanks, Alaska. In winning this year's race, Schnuelle completed the epic course in 9 days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes. That's a new record time, besting the old record set in 2007 by Lance Mackey by 3 hours and 17 minutes. In fact, the top three racers would all have beaten Mackey's record, giving you an indication of how fast this year's race was. Four-time defending champ Mackey was at the finish line to greet the teams.

Sled dog legend Martin Buser finished in 4th place overall, and was followed very closely by Michelle Phillips who claimed fifth. Some of the mushers and their dogs are still coming in, but the majority have now crossed the finish line. Many will now begin preparing for "The Last Great Race", the Iditarod, which will begin in just 8 days, with the ceremonial start set for Saturday, March 7th.

For Schnuelle, history is not on his side for winning the Iditarod as well. Mackey is the only man to win both in one year. Still, coming of a huge win like this one has to give plenty of confidence as he heads for Anchorage, and his date with destiny.

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2009 Yukon Quest Begins Tomorrow

The 2009 Yukon Quest sled dog race gets underway tomorrow, with the top mushers in the world setting out from Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, for Fairbanks, Alaska, a distance of over 1000 miles, in the heart of winter.

This is the 25th running of this classic endurance event, which often serves as a prelude to the Iditarod which begins in March. The race is expected to run anywhere from 10-16 days depending on weather conditions, and however long it takes the last team to cross the finish line. in all, there are 50 mushers and their dogs in the race, and the top 15 will share the prize money. All of the finishers receive $1000 in cash, equal to the number of miles they have covered, while the Yukon Quest Champion takes home a $35,000 prize.

The historic Yukon Quest course follows what was once a Gold Rush and mail delivery route between Whitehorse and Fairbanks. Now the trails are only used for the race each year, and it allows the competitors and their canine companions to experience some of the most amazing, pristine, backcountry anywhere on the planet. The Yukon is a remote, and desolate place, especially in winter, and only the fast and strong will come out the other side.

The odds on favorite once again this year is Lance Mackey, the four-time defending champ of this race, and two-time defending champ of the Iditarod. There are a number of other very strong mushers in the field however, with likes of Martin Buser, and Lance's brother Jason giving chase.

The race gets underway tomorrow morning, and will continue over the next couple of weeks.

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