#127 - The Yukon River Quest Uncovered

WEBVTT

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Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

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Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

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I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started paddling the blue.

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Welcome to today's episode of Paddling the Blue.

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Today's episode is a bit non-traditional.

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There's a race called the Yukon River Quest, and of all places, the Yukon.

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It's a race, But even more, for everyone who enters, it's an experience too.

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And personally, as a former and maybe again future adventure racer,

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it's an event that has intrigued me for many years.

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I'm joined today by four veterans of the event who share their experiences and

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why it's important to them and why it may also captivate your attention.

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Before we get to the Yukon Rivercrest crew, thanks to everyone who's helped

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us out with contributions to offset the cost of running Paddling the Blue.

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You can help out if you're interested by visiting paddlingtheblue.com slash support.

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James and Simon at onlineseacayagin.com continue to produce great content to

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help you evolve as a paddler and as a coach.

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You'll find everything from basic strokes and safety to paddling in tides,

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surfing, coaching, documentaries, expedition skills, incident management, and more.

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And if you're looking to improve your role, they also have a 36 lesson rolling

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course. It's all in one place, so if you're not already a subscriber to OnlineSeaKhiking.com,

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here is your opportunity to get started.

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Just visit OnlineSeaKhiking.com, use the coupon code PTBPODCAST to check out,

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and you'll get 10% off just for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

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Enjoy today's episode with Thomas Schillig, Bill Searsdorfer,

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Mirko Proofer, and Esther Wheeler.

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Hello, Thomas, Mirko, Bill, and Esther. Thank you very much for joining me today

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for Paddling the Blue. How are you today?

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Fine, thanks. Thank you. Excellent.

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So you're all racers. I'd love to hear a little bit about your background.

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Tell me a little bit about you. Thomas, I'll start with you.

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Tell me a little bit about yourself and your history.

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I'm working since 10 years in the sub-business as a product manager.

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10 years ago, it was 2014, I was one of the first sub on the Yukon River.

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Together with a local guy, we made CarMax 2000 City.

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Yeah, and it was a wonderful time and...

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Two years later i came back and we made lake labors

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to carmax and then i heard about you

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can request and that probably soon stuff will

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be allowed to and never ever

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i said so that's the nature is

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too amazing to just rush through so then it was just no way to to do that but

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yeah that time came about two years later i made it was i think it was in 2018

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i made a video documentary.

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About the peddlers barter tward and alexis

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saying and yeah then i made my

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decision i get addicted to that race

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all right for those of us who are who are seated

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in a boat just just thinking about a 444 mile

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race or a thousand mile race on a stand-up paddleboard

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is just over the top so kudos to

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you on on that certainly how did

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you get started uh paddling a stand-up paddleboard well yeah

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it was more than 10 years ago i just tried

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it somewhere in over here in switzerland and

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yeah that's it was a really unknown sport

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in europe and then it

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was a really really nice nice for me and i

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just public yeah about one or two years later i became a job offer from swiss

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sub-brand so then it's became bigger and more intensive yeah and became part

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of life yes great thank you merco tell us a little bit about you.

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Yes, thank you John. Well, I live in the eastern part of Germany and it's a

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very beautiful landscape and here we have a lot of rivers and lakes and therefore

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I'm connected to paddling and to water since I was a child.

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And in 2009 I joined the dragon boat team.

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This was the first time I paddled more professional and for the following years

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dragon boating was my main focus.

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And in 2016 I had a pretty hard time and I chose to have a vacation,

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the first vacation for several years and it led me to the Yukon and I had no

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idea about outdoor paddling and this kind of sport and I was there as a tourist

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and I paddled down the Trombitos to Dawson City 17 days.

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And on day two, we saw these amazing athletes which has done the Yukon River

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Quest. And I was very fascinated.

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When coming back to Germany, I talked to my paddle buddies from the Dragon Boat

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team and I said, well, I want to do it as well.

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We established a Voyager team and we took part in the 2017 Yukon River Quest.

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We were the first German Voyager boat.

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Well, and we finished And this was the beginning of my, well,

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let's call it a paddle career.

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Since then, I finished three Yukon River quests.

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And due to COVID, when we were not allowed to enter, and therefore I paddled

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at the moment, I think, seven or eight of the big races.

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And I'm addicted to paddling. And as you already mentioned, I paddled in a surf

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ski, kayak, sea kayak, canoe, dragon boat.

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I was with Esther in a dragon boat in the MR340.

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Well, that's a short overview regarding my development so far. Okay.

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And you've done what I guess are termed the seven most extreme paddle races in the world.

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Yes, it's a moment. And well, it's not the end.

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I read the book three years ago. It was from an endurance pedaller.

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And he said he had finished the 12th most extreme pedal races in the world.

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And I said, well, I will do it so as well. So I have some other races on my bucket list.

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But next year I will be back in the Yukon. And I said, coming back to the Yukon

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is like coming back home because it started for me.

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And I'm connected to this race in a very special way. It's always a pleasure

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for me to be back on the Yukon and back in the races in the Yukon.

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Okay. Now those seven races, what are those seven? And then what makes up the

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rest of the 12 that are considered that 12?

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Yeah, just a short overview. The first races were the Yukon River Pass.

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And in 2021, I entered with Alabama 650 mile race in the southern part of the US.

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Across the state of Alabama, it was a beautiful race. and I finished it second place in my category.

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And after this, I have done the Swanee River Race. It's a 2030 mile race in Florida.

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I've seen so many alligators, which I've never seen before and after it.

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It was pretty interesting.

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Well, then I was in the MR340, as I already mentioned. We were in the Dragon

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Boat last year with Esther.

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And then I was in the Texas Water Safari. I also completed, like Thomas Schilling

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also did, the Loire race this year. It's the longest race in Europe.

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And then there is one of the biggest races by participants. It's in Estonia, the Wahandu Marathon.

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I was last year and I think I will be there next year.

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And at the moment I will paddle next year's Yukon 1000.

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Well, I guess that's it.

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I think I counted three, maybe four of those in the U.S. Interesting.

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Yes. And regarding the second part of your question, which is still on my bucket

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list, it's Evergate Challenge in Florida.

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And then I'm very interested in doing races on other continents,

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for example, the Ducie Marathon and South Africa.

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And I also saw that there are pretty interesting races in Australia,

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which are also on my bucket list. So, yeah, we will see what the future will bring.

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And I'm very happy by every race that I finish because for me,

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it's a privilege to be in these races and to be healthy to do it.

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So you don't have a lot of alligators in Germany?

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No, no alligators. But I live in an area in Germany where we have wolfers.

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That means if I go running during the evening or so, I sometimes see not wolves,

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but I see their footprints.

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All right. We're going to move to Bill. So, Bill, I heard one race in there

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that Mirko had mentioned, the Alabama 650.

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And so you are also a veteran of the Alabama 650 as well as the Yukon River

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Quest. So, Bill, tell us a little bit about you.

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I got started in paddling as a kid in Boy Scouts, and we had a Scoutmaster that

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was into downriver racing.

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And I grew up in the Pennsylvania area, and there's a lot of whitewater up there

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and a lot of downriver races.

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And then career and children

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kind of kept me out of racing for

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a while then once I became an empty nester retired

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I started getting back into into racing and I

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heard some friends at a party talk about this crazy race down in Texas which

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ended up being the Texas water safari and I thought well I'm gonna do this race

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and so in 2012 I did the Texas water safari and just you know how to blast doing

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the race i always like kind of the the journey aspect.

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Of of paddling and i'm also

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you know a little competitive and this is a fantastic opportunity to combine

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you know both of those aspirations and then once i did the the first race i

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was kind of hooked and then i heard about all these other races and so i tried

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the mr340 in missouri and enjoyed that.

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And then I'd heard about this Yukon race. I'd never been in that area of the world.

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So I went up in 2016 and did the Yukon River Quest and I was addicted.

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And I've been back a total of five times.

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Wow, that's an impressive number. All right.

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And then Esther, so I heard Mirko talking about alligators.

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I know you don't have alligators, but you've got crocodiles and lots of other

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things trying to kill you down in Australia.

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So tell us a little bit about you. I know you've been on the show before in

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episode 98, where we had a chance to talk about the Yukon River Quest and a

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few other things, but just remind our listeners.

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Yeah, sure. And thanks for having me back again. So I started to learn to paddle

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in 2011 in London, in the UK, which is where I'm from.

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As a reaction to a rafting, almost drowning incident in Nepal,

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I thought I'd learn to paddle properly.

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So I joined a club and off we went together and it was a great way to make friends.

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In the UK, we went off adventuring, whitewater rivers, a lot of sea kayaking,

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which is actually my first love.

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And just getting better at all sorts of paddling. and I read about the Yukon

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at some point. I did what everyone else here did.

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I went once and fell in love and kept coming back.

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Like Bill, I've done five Yukon River quests and one Yukon on thousand.

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And then about halfway through that, I now live in Australia. I moved out for work.

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So we have snakes, water snakes that can get in canoes, sharks.

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So I don't look down into the water too much. I hope they're just happily swimming

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around and letting me do my thing.

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And I just ended up being one of these people who likes the adventure,

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likes the teamwork, wants to go back and challenge myself and do better and better.

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And I went from someone who just enjoyed paddling to someone who really wants to race.

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So I don't have quite Mirko's 12 goals. I do have some coming up where I really

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want to push myself in the next couple of years.

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I go back to the Yukon next year, 25th anniversary, which will be hopefully

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a cracker of a year to be there.

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And then a surprise race in 2026, which I haven't yet decided I can tell the public about.

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You know, once you tell the public, you have to do it.

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I know, I know. I've told my head. My head knows I'm doing it.

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All right. Well, if you want to reveal it, we'll let you reveal it,

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but we'll also let you keep it a secret.

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So, again, I mentioned that we had a chance to talk a little bit about the Yukon

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River Quest in episode 98, but can you remind listeners, what is the Yukon River Quest?

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Sure. So the Yukon River Quest is a 444 mile or 715 kilometers downriver race

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from Whitehorse to Dawson in the Yukon territories of Canada.

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It's a wilderness expedition race.

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Really, there's no support apart from designated campsite about 24 hours in.

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You're on your own on that river. There's very little access.

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It's fantastic scenery. It's a big river.

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Once you start to get about three quarters of the way down is easily a mile

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across with lots of islands and braided routes as a race itself you can enter

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as a soloist tandem paddler a c4 or a voyager and those voyagers that take up

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to eight people like that paddler's a breast team,

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So it's very much a race that you can really go into and race hard.

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You can really try and win, whichever class you're in.

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But you could also go into it and be like, okay, I'm a paddler.

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I'm learning my craft. I'm enjoying myself.

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I maybe want to go with my friends. Maybe I want to take a family member.

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You can get some experience and you can still do it. It's not sort of all in elite race.

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It caters for everybody, no matter what they want. Okay. All right.

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And Merkle, so you had mentioned something earlier. You said that you were in

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the Yukon as a tourist and you did Whitehorse to Dawson in 17 days. Is that right?

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Yes, that's right. All right. So 17 days as a tourist. And then what's your average time in a race?

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Well my last time was 56 hours i

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guess it was 2019 and well

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for me it was an advantage so if someone is thinking

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about doing the river quest and has a lot of time do a

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tourist tour you can do it from from whitehorse to

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carmex or from carmex to dawson city because you can

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really enjoy the river the nature and you

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you don't have so much from the landscape if you

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do it adjust the race so some friends of

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mine who joined our voyager team in 2017 they

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said i've never been in canada i've never been in the

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yukon i want to see it but the race itself well

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it's it's horrible from time to time at the

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end especially so for me it was

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it was a big advantage because i i know the

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river very well i've seen it from a

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totally different perspective by pedaling very slow and

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then by doing it as a racer okay and so

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from from the difference between as a tourist

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in 17 days you basically shaved 15 days off it for the race portion yes all

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right that's that's pretty cool now esther i'm going to ask another question

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so this is a non-stop kind of adventure race style right so it's it's straight

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through you've got the one one camp area is that a mandatory stop at that camp area.

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Yeah, it's a mandatory 10-hour stop. The race has been different over a couple

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of years. Sometimes there's two stops, but that 10 hours is fixed.

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Prior to that, previous versions have had a seven and a three-hour stop,

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but it's a 10-hour stop now, one solo one, and that's it.

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Okay. I mean, if you're tired, definitely people do stop and sleep on the side.

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I saw someone once sleeping in a tree, wedged their canoe in, and off they were.

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And there's a, I don't know if it's true, but there's this tale that always

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goes around that one year there was a Voyager where everyone was asleep and

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the Voyager just circled around in this big eddy.

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So people do take rests at other points, but obviously you don't win if you do that. Okay.

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And so it's a mandatory 10 hours for everybody. Is it the same 10 hours?

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Like, is it a dark zone or is it just a mandatory 10 hour time period whenever

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you happen to get there 10 hours from then?

00:15:58.983 --> 00:16:02.123
Yeah, mandatory when you get there. So it's a designated stop at CarMax,

00:16:02.123 --> 00:16:07.543
which is the only really big settlement accessible by road where you can get

00:16:07.543 --> 00:16:11.403
some support, and that's allowed there. So you can get more food and that sort of thing.

00:16:11.723 --> 00:16:14.063
So you arrive there, and then 10 hours from when you arrive,

00:16:14.183 --> 00:16:15.923
you leave. Okay. All right.

00:16:16.543 --> 00:16:20.923
And Mirko, what are the qualifications required for someone who wishes to participate

00:16:20.923 --> 00:16:22.503
in a race like the Yukon River Quest?

00:16:23.423 --> 00:16:28.583
Well, if you want to participate in the Yukon River Quest, you have to register,

00:16:28.763 --> 00:16:31.763
but I think people from the board take a closer look if they

00:16:31.763 --> 00:16:34.603
said okay it's possible for you so the the best

00:16:34.603 --> 00:16:37.483
way is and of course the way i choose to to do

00:16:37.483 --> 00:16:40.323
it first not in the solo boat for example in the voyager

00:16:40.323 --> 00:16:43.183
boat or in the tandem canoe and you have to

00:16:43.183 --> 00:16:46.783
well prove that you are experienced because like

00:16:46.783 --> 00:16:49.783
est already mentioned you have one stop 10

00:16:49.783 --> 00:16:52.823
hours but between white horse and comics and comics and

00:16:52.823 --> 00:16:55.463
doors the city there's nearly nothing that means if you

00:16:55.463 --> 00:16:58.703
get into trouble it's really hard to get rescued therefore

00:16:58.703 --> 00:17:01.643
on the one hand training is very important to

00:17:01.643 --> 00:17:05.003
be prepared very well is very important and so

00:17:05.003 --> 00:17:08.023
my advice will be if you want to do it in the solo boat

00:17:08.023 --> 00:17:11.243
at least you have to head finish some

00:17:11.243 --> 00:17:15.063
similar shorter races for example because you

00:17:15.063 --> 00:17:18.623
can work with this totally different from other races during daytime

00:17:18.623 --> 00:17:22.143
it's sometimes really hot and you sweat and some

00:17:22.143 --> 00:17:26.303
hours later during nighttime it's nearly zero degrees

00:17:26.303 --> 00:17:29.163
celsius so temperature can drop very

00:17:29.163 --> 00:17:35.263
fast so well i have respect uh about the race okay a friend of mine used to

00:17:35.263 --> 00:17:39.383
give an example and you mentioned experienced in there he used to talk about

00:17:39.383 --> 00:17:44.723
bowling and he would say that i i've bowled ever since i was a young child and

00:17:44.723 --> 00:17:48.503
so i've bowled for 50 years but i'm terrible at bowling.

00:17:49.303 --> 00:17:54.283
And so in that case he was an experienced bowler but he was not a competent

00:17:54.283 --> 00:17:58.563
bowler so there's a big difference between being experienced and being competent

00:17:58.563 --> 00:18:03.903
so in what ways do you need to show competency to do this race or do you.

00:18:04.893 --> 00:18:08.393
Well i think competence is in

00:18:08.393 --> 00:18:11.813
this race you have to know how

00:18:11.813 --> 00:18:14.793
to deal with the unexpected so when you're

00:18:14.793 --> 00:18:17.813
in the race something will go wrong for example some

00:18:17.813 --> 00:18:20.753
some smaller things some bigger things so you have

00:18:20.753 --> 00:18:23.813
to know how to rescue yourself even at the finish line

00:18:23.813 --> 00:18:26.753
the river is very wide so if you slip your kayak if

00:18:26.753 --> 00:18:29.653
you capsize you have to know how to get back into the

00:18:29.653 --> 00:18:32.573
boat or to agree that rolls for example then it's

00:18:32.573 --> 00:18:35.553
very important regarding your gear and for me

00:18:35.553 --> 00:18:38.373
it's very good point from the race that they

00:18:38.373 --> 00:18:41.473
have a very strict gear policy that means as

00:18:41.473 --> 00:18:46.913
i control it and i said it's not to to be bad to the better it's about you because

00:18:46.913 --> 00:18:51.713
if you have for example such a bb and you can get into it you can stay warm

00:18:51.713 --> 00:18:59.573
so your experience means that you paddled a lot competence means that you can help yourself.

00:18:59.913 --> 00:19:03.153
I think there are not so many races in the world like the Yukon,

00:19:03.313 --> 00:19:07.733
where this should be the main competence that you should bring with you to the race.

00:19:07.973 --> 00:19:11.273
Being able to manage yourself on the water, but then also being able to manage

00:19:11.273 --> 00:19:16.253
yourself off the water and handle that adversity as well. And you mentioned gear.

00:19:16.493 --> 00:19:20.713
Is there a mandatory gear list that everybody has to carry a couple of certain items?

00:19:21.393 --> 00:19:24.293
Yes, it's a long list of mandatory gear but every

00:19:24.293 --> 00:19:27.573
item on the list is very necessary i think some

00:19:27.573 --> 00:19:30.293
things you will not need because i

00:19:30.293 --> 00:19:33.513
like stores and things like this or tents if the

00:19:33.513 --> 00:19:36.613
race goes very well you only stop at carmex have

00:19:36.613 --> 00:19:39.333
your 10 hour stop go to sleep have a

00:19:39.333 --> 00:19:42.513
shower eat something and then you will continue to to paddle

00:19:42.513 --> 00:19:45.753
on but there are also sometimes some thunderstorms

00:19:45.753 --> 00:19:48.653
you have to go off the water or you get for example some

00:19:48.653 --> 00:19:52.053
problems in 2022 i had to dns

00:19:52.053 --> 00:19:55.033
because i had that heartburn because of

00:19:55.033 --> 00:19:57.713
yeah the wrong end of reaction i made it to

00:19:57.713 --> 00:20:00.473
comics but in case i wouldn't have made it to comics i

00:20:00.473 --> 00:20:05.793
had to go off the water put on my tent put on my stuff and use it so the mandatory

00:20:05.793 --> 00:20:13.013
gear on the list is very elementary and very very good for my country okay thomas

00:20:13.013 --> 00:20:18.113
how do you prepare for a race like the UConn River Quest or any other races

00:20:18.113 --> 00:20:19.133
that you've done for that matter?

00:20:19.893 --> 00:20:26.373
My first preparation was just pushing myself to even every day or every week,

00:20:26.493 --> 00:20:27.793
month, longer distance.

00:20:28.273 --> 00:20:31.673
And then I realized kind of.

00:20:32.512 --> 00:20:40.692
After four paddling four hours of paddling i'm not more tired if i paddle six or eight hours so.

00:20:41.472 --> 00:20:44.912
Four hour hours that was was my limit and

00:20:44.912 --> 00:20:47.692
then i then i started to do to

00:20:47.692 --> 00:20:50.712
add multiple days in in a row

00:20:50.712 --> 00:20:53.532
and just to

00:20:53.532 --> 00:20:56.912
see how my my body reacts to

00:20:56.912 --> 00:21:00.172
to that training or just to

00:21:00.172 --> 00:21:03.332
that to that stress so for example

00:21:03.332 --> 00:21:06.272
even even now if i pedal uh three

00:21:06.272 --> 00:21:09.792
hours the shoulders the arms they start hurting and

00:21:09.792 --> 00:21:13.012
i exactly knew know that's after six

00:21:13.012 --> 00:21:15.732
seven hours it disappears i did a

00:21:15.732 --> 00:21:18.552
lot of long distance or long

00:21:18.552 --> 00:21:21.592
time low long durance

00:21:21.592 --> 00:21:24.852
training just to know how

00:21:24.852 --> 00:21:28.532
my body reacts okay so there's

00:21:28.532 --> 00:21:31.512
no do you do any any very specialized training

00:21:31.512 --> 00:21:34.252
or is it just a matter of time in the boat or in your case

00:21:34.252 --> 00:21:37.792
time on the board well i especially

00:21:37.792 --> 00:21:40.792
during winter time i'm also on the sub but

00:21:40.792 --> 00:21:44.892
also often in the gym and i do some kind of interval trainings

00:21:44.892 --> 00:21:48.532
like long interval trainings

00:21:48.532 --> 00:21:52.552
on high capacity things

00:21:52.552 --> 00:22:00.332
things like this and yeah usually i i train half a year and push me up and up

00:22:00.332 --> 00:22:05.652
for for how the year towards you can request and then it's it's it's it's a

00:22:05.652 --> 00:22:10.672
race and after that i i do a little more relaxed.

00:22:11.332 --> 00:22:14.572
Training or yeah kind of

00:22:14.572 --> 00:22:17.372
relaxing part all right so half the

00:22:17.372 --> 00:22:21.432
year working hard the other half the year on the couch yeah but

00:22:21.432 --> 00:22:24.312
it was it was for the first you can request i really

00:22:24.312 --> 00:22:27.212
trained slowly raised my training

00:22:27.212 --> 00:22:30.552
for half a year then for my second you can request well

00:22:30.552 --> 00:22:34.412
i did it maybe for three months but just

00:22:34.412 --> 00:22:37.952
raised the training a little faster okay all

00:22:37.952 --> 00:22:40.872
right bill any any uh different training that

00:22:40.872 --> 00:22:45.772
you might perform to get yourself ready for racing i try to keep myself at a

00:22:45.772 --> 00:22:51.112
certain level of conditioning year round but generally you know if i'm going

00:22:51.112 --> 00:22:55.672
to do a long race tonight i used to pick like one long race a year a multi-day

00:22:55.672 --> 00:23:00.652
event i would start training probably about six months before the race and.

00:23:02.247 --> 00:23:06.467
First, I would do strength training for a couple of months to try to get myself

00:23:06.467 --> 00:23:13.027
stronger and then develop a paddling base when I'm paddling about three or four,

00:23:13.267 --> 00:23:16.247
six to eight mile sessions, low heart rate.

00:23:16.927 --> 00:23:20.347
Zone two type paddling for about 10 weeks.

00:23:20.627 --> 00:23:25.187
And then I kind of switched to strength endurance, strength training,

00:23:25.247 --> 00:23:28.527
and then gradually increase my paddling load

00:23:28.527 --> 00:23:31.967
to maybe three or

00:23:31.967 --> 00:23:35.407
four you know 10 to 12 mile paddles a week and

00:23:35.407 --> 00:23:41.027
then one of those days when i get to within about three months of the race one

00:23:41.027 --> 00:23:46.887
day we'll try to increase you know do a longer paddle i'll go like 10 to 12

00:23:46.887 --> 00:23:53.007
to 14 till eventually i'm doing a about a 25 or 30 mile I'll paddle once a week

00:23:53.007 --> 00:23:54.147
or once every other week.

00:23:54.447 --> 00:23:59.007
And then about one or two months or, you know, six weeks before the race,

00:23:59.147 --> 00:24:05.167
I'll try to do what I call a shakedown paddle where I'll go out and I'll spend, pick a river somewhere.

00:24:05.387 --> 00:24:10.447
I'll do, you know, 10 to 12 hours just to make sure that my gear set up,

00:24:10.627 --> 00:24:17.227
my nutrition set up, I'm not, you know, feeling ill or weak while I paddle or nothing is chafing.

00:24:17.487 --> 00:24:23.847
My hands are, are okay. I'm not blistering too early. and then I'll work on

00:24:23.847 --> 00:24:28.767
correcting whatever I find in that battle and then I feel pretty well prepared for the race.

00:24:29.187 --> 00:24:34.687
Okay. I think the race is basically, from a physical standpoint,

00:24:34.987 --> 00:24:37.707
is already won or lost when you get to the start line.

00:24:37.867 --> 00:24:40.447
There's a lot of preparation. Sounds good.

00:24:41.507 --> 00:24:46.007
Esther, what would someone experience in a race like the Yukon River Quest?

00:24:46.987 --> 00:24:50.427
That is such a good question. they would

00:24:50.427 --> 00:24:53.607
experience so many things really positive emotions

00:24:53.607 --> 00:24:56.707
possibly some less positive

00:24:56.707 --> 00:24:59.887
emotions they'd be tired and sore but

00:24:59.887 --> 00:25:03.187
they'd also they'd also experience

00:25:03.187 --> 00:25:09.067
the wonders of the yukon landscape and the river and most people if they're

00:25:09.067 --> 00:25:15.127
not from northern canada or maybe maybe some of the mountainous areas in europe

00:25:15.127 --> 00:25:19.427
they'll never have seen a river like the yukon i mean even though some of the

00:25:19.427 --> 00:25:20.727
US rivers are bigger and wider.

00:25:21.998 --> 00:25:26.438
It's quite a unique environment and being there and being in that environment,

00:25:26.718 --> 00:25:30.338
whether you're on your own or whether you're with a team, I think one of the

00:25:30.338 --> 00:25:34.998
interesting things about a race like the Yukon of people experience is that

00:25:34.998 --> 00:25:36.798
you're always working with somebody.

00:25:37.338 --> 00:25:40.518
If you're in a big team boat, which most people are in team boats,

00:25:40.698 --> 00:25:43.898
then there's always someone with you to experience that, to talk about it,

00:25:43.998 --> 00:25:45.618
to have the joys, the highs and the lows.

00:25:45.758 --> 00:25:49.178
And if you're a solo paddler, you take all the rest of your friends and family

00:25:49.178 --> 00:25:53.018
with you in the boat to help you, which I always sort of stick with.

00:25:53.218 --> 00:25:59.598
You'll also experience an amazing volunteer and local community because the race is a vibe.

00:25:59.838 --> 00:26:03.178
Yes, there's the hours on the water, but there's the days before gear check,

00:26:03.618 --> 00:26:09.958
experiencing the North, the Yukon, which is different and new and exciting for many people.

00:26:10.238 --> 00:26:12.058
So many people come out and volunteer.

00:26:12.618 --> 00:26:15.278
I mean, it's a volunteer run board, it's a volunteer run race.

00:26:15.518 --> 00:26:21.378
For example, people at the communities and the First Nations through Whitehorse, Carmax and Dawson.

00:26:21.618 --> 00:26:27.158
All of that experience translates on land as just as it must from the water.

00:26:27.438 --> 00:26:32.758
I mean, out of the group of us here, I've paddled behind Thomas halfway down

00:26:32.758 --> 00:26:36.018
Lake Labage behind a Voyager trying to stay in his wash.

00:26:36.278 --> 00:26:41.718
I've spent quite some time on my first roller race trying to keep up with Bill and failing.

00:26:42.038 --> 00:26:45.078
And I haven't yet chased go down

00:26:45.078 --> 00:26:47.898
the river but that might come one day so you have all

00:26:47.898 --> 00:26:50.638
of those experiences when you do a race like the Yukon it isn't

00:26:50.638 --> 00:26:54.078
just getting a boat and paddle from A to B okay so

00:26:54.078 --> 00:26:56.798
it's not and it sounds like there's people that

00:26:56.798 --> 00:26:59.698
are treating the race as a race and then there's people that

00:26:59.698 --> 00:27:03.378
are treating the race as an experience 100 the

00:27:03.378 --> 00:27:06.578
first time I did it I sort of wanted to race and then rapidly realized

00:27:06.578 --> 00:27:09.598
it was an experience my second time in a Voyager was

00:27:09.598 --> 00:27:12.798
an experience so I could then go solo

00:27:12.798 --> 00:27:15.678
and as i've done more races i go

00:27:15.678 --> 00:27:19.318
now to race flat out okay but obviously

00:27:19.318 --> 00:27:22.218
not yeah not everyone does and i've certainly paddled past i

00:27:22.218 --> 00:27:28.418
well one story which was hilarious on our first one we capsized in a really

00:27:28.418 --> 00:27:32.718
wicked eddie with a tree and we were rescued by a father and son team and the

00:27:32.718 --> 00:27:38.118
father was smoking a cigar so some people do all kinds of things yep you do

00:27:38.118 --> 00:27:40.378
you you're experiencing the race in your way.

00:27:41.438 --> 00:27:44.878
Yeah. You mentioned something else in there. You said, if you're a solo paddler,

00:27:45.058 --> 00:27:47.938
you still take all your friends and family with you.

00:27:49.221 --> 00:27:52.981
So tell me what you mean by that. Well, there's going to be times as a solo

00:27:52.981 --> 00:27:56.261
paddler when it's going to be hard, really hard.

00:27:56.441 --> 00:27:58.141
And you'll wonder why you're there.

00:27:58.521 --> 00:28:02.741
And as we've talked about, there's really no way out of the Yukon after a certain

00:28:02.741 --> 00:28:04.721
point. You have to have a why.

00:28:05.241 --> 00:28:10.201
And the why is often supported by the fact that to train this hard to be a soloist,

00:28:10.441 --> 00:28:14.101
especially if you want to do well, you've had to sacrifice some things.

00:28:14.181 --> 00:28:16.541
Your family have to support you. Your friends have to support you.

00:28:16.721 --> 00:28:18.921
And they have to be engaged in that journey.

00:28:19.221 --> 00:28:24.341
And I think, I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, it helps to know that

00:28:24.341 --> 00:28:27.721
they were there before and then they're there in the boat. I know they're willing to be on.

00:28:28.181 --> 00:28:31.881
I know that when I go down the river, there's lots of people watching my little

00:28:31.881 --> 00:28:35.521
dot, my tracker device on the map, I think every 10 minutes,

00:28:35.861 --> 00:28:36.981
watching it bounce up and down.

00:28:37.121 --> 00:28:41.781
And if I ever stopped, they'd be shouting at me from the other side of the world

00:28:41.781 --> 00:28:44.301
as to why I was stopping. So you know they're there.

00:28:44.481 --> 00:28:48.801
And I certainly take a great deal of comfort and strength and determination

00:28:48.801 --> 00:28:51.181
from the fact that I know that they're in the boat with me.

00:28:52.101 --> 00:28:58.521
That's very cool. Thomas, what are some of the biggest learnings that you've gained from racing?

00:28:58.941 --> 00:29:08.521
I learned even more to create this loneliness, to be just out by myself.

00:29:08.521 --> 00:29:11.581
I'm always a person who can

00:29:11.581 --> 00:29:14.861
manage it but especially in the in the ucon as a

00:29:14.861 --> 00:29:18.041
solo toddler even more learn that

00:29:18.041 --> 00:29:27.901
just to you have to spend your time or to entertain yourself you start to think

00:29:27.901 --> 00:29:33.041
think about life how do you entertain yourself you're you're in a long race

00:29:33.041 --> 00:29:36.701
you're alone you're the only one on that board in what ways do you keep yourself occupied,

00:29:37.421 --> 00:29:41.361
one thing is reading the map this this old

00:29:41.361 --> 00:29:44.281
style broken map everything is written

00:29:44.281 --> 00:29:47.101
every band every mountain and that's also

00:29:47.101 --> 00:29:50.261
about reading the river see what

00:29:50.261 --> 00:29:53.041
river goes taking the wrong side of

00:29:53.041 --> 00:29:55.961
the river made may may cost

00:29:55.961 --> 00:30:00.541
you a lot of time then i also start

00:30:00.541 --> 00:30:07.441
with some kind of calculation games like time kilometers just to keep my brain

00:30:07.441 --> 00:30:11.921
occupied so you're playing playing those mind games with yourself i'll be here

00:30:11.921 --> 00:30:16.381
in an hour i'll be there in two hours i'm watching for this this piece of landscape.

00:30:17.272 --> 00:30:21.052
Something like this, yeah. Just kind of stupid calculations. Yeah.

00:30:21.832 --> 00:30:26.032
Mirko, I've interviewed a lot of people who've set circumnavigation records.

00:30:26.452 --> 00:30:31.432
And so they've paddled around something. For sea kayakers, paddling around something is a big thing.

00:30:31.832 --> 00:30:37.172
And they've all said that they wish they slowed down. You originally did this

00:30:37.172 --> 00:30:39.752
stretch as a tourist in 17 days.

00:30:39.992 --> 00:30:46.872
And then you changed that and went as a racer to 56 hours and more or less, depending on your race.

00:30:47.272 --> 00:30:54.072
Do you still have an opportunity to soak in the atmosphere and experience it?

00:30:54.092 --> 00:30:57.092
Or are you racing through it too fast to really grab onto that?

00:30:57.932 --> 00:31:02.212
Yes, you always have the chance to soak in the atmosphere.

00:31:02.752 --> 00:31:08.632
There are several spots where I've been only as a racer, but I also saw a lot.

00:31:08.752 --> 00:31:14.092
This is, for me, one of the big advantages, the big benefits of the sport.

00:31:14.092 --> 00:31:17.252
You travel around the globe you go to

00:31:17.252 --> 00:31:20.352
different places and you see these places

00:31:20.352 --> 00:31:23.492
from a different perspective even if you are in the race for

00:31:23.492 --> 00:31:27.592
example the texas water safari this year i've never been in texas and i was

00:31:27.592 --> 00:31:32.772
there for the race and we were in the race for i think nearly 77 hours or so

00:31:32.772 --> 00:31:39.352
with my with my pedal body and i've seen so many new things and it was so fascinating

00:31:39.352 --> 00:31:41.312
from the beginning to the end.

00:31:41.972 --> 00:31:45.632
So yes, to do it as a tourist, you have the chance to slow down,

00:31:45.812 --> 00:31:50.572
to have some sightseeing, to see the landscape is even better.

00:31:50.732 --> 00:31:55.912
But even as a racer, you have the chance to get so many impressions from the

00:31:55.912 --> 00:31:58.232
area, from the country, even from the people.

00:31:58.692 --> 00:32:01.592
Thomas, what advice would you give to a new racer?

00:32:02.230 --> 00:32:09.850
Well, my advice will be, you need 20% physical strength, but 80% mental strength.

00:32:10.130 --> 00:32:16.650
When this first was told to me, I didn't really understand the meaning, but it's true.

00:32:16.850 --> 00:32:21.790
And it's not only this, yeah, I can, I can do, I can do it.

00:32:22.310 --> 00:32:26.210
It's much more. it's also important

00:32:26.210 --> 00:32:30.110
that you put finish

00:32:30.110 --> 00:32:33.290
or go completely completing the race not

00:32:33.290 --> 00:32:36.870
in an insanely high goal so just

00:32:36.870 --> 00:32:40.930
put it into a good perspective because

00:32:40.930 --> 00:32:44.170
otherwise in bad moments

00:32:44.170 --> 00:32:47.830
on the river maybe doubts may

00:32:47.830 --> 00:32:51.050
arise and you start start asking yourself

00:32:51.050 --> 00:32:54.290
why i'm doing this it's too crazy i'll always

00:32:54.290 --> 00:32:59.050
knew it it's it's too crazy it's too too high but if you keep it in relation

00:32:59.050 --> 00:33:06.250
and you always keep in mind i can can do it because i trained for it and it

00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:13.410
isn't that hard it will help you a lot okay that's really important you have to be you.

00:33:13.490 --> 00:33:16.790
Have to be physically prepared and there's that 20 percent atmosphere

00:33:16.790 --> 00:33:20.070
or 20 percent segment that you mentioned you know you that's that's

00:33:20.070 --> 00:33:22.790
only one-fifth of your training the rest of it is

00:33:22.790 --> 00:33:25.990
the mental training your brain will take you out of the race so much

00:33:25.990 --> 00:33:28.910
faster than your body your body will keep going but your

00:33:28.910 --> 00:33:31.930
brain is what's going to trick you into thinking you can't

00:33:31.930 --> 00:33:36.050
do that so that's really important so thank you for sharing that bill what's

00:33:36.050 --> 00:33:39.430
your favorite yukon river quest story you know

00:33:39.430 --> 00:33:45.850
you mentioned about when you do the race if you have time to enjoy the the scenery

00:33:45.850 --> 00:33:50.950
or soak in what's going on around you and one of the you know techniques i used

00:33:50.950 --> 00:33:55.470
i think one of the keys to success on the race is you you're always trying to

00:33:55.470 --> 00:33:56.930
stay in the fastest current.

00:33:57.783 --> 00:34:04.323
And i use my gps a lot to as kind of a check to make sure i'm in the current

00:34:04.323 --> 00:34:11.823
and one year when i was doing the race i was paddling i came alongside i wanted

00:34:11.823 --> 00:34:13.743
a first nations team with.

00:34:14.503 --> 00:34:19.943
A mother and her daughter and i kind of got out of race mode a little bit and

00:34:19.943 --> 00:34:25.503
generally like you know towards the later stages of the race when you pass someone

00:34:25.503 --> 00:34:29.203
or meet up with someone you you know, exchange some pleasantries.

00:34:29.323 --> 00:34:31.083
And so I started chatting with

00:34:31.083 --> 00:34:35.003
them. I said, you know, this year I haven't really noticed much wildlife.

00:34:35.243 --> 00:34:37.143
I said, I don't even think I've seen a bald eagle.

00:34:37.483 --> 00:34:41.543
And they both looked up at me and one pointed and said, there's one there.

00:34:41.683 --> 00:34:43.823
And the other pointed another way and said, there's one there.

00:34:43.923 --> 00:34:50.183
And I realized that I'd had my head kind of stuck in the GPS and hadn't been

00:34:50.183 --> 00:34:53.043
paying attention as much as I liked to what's going on.

00:34:53.043 --> 00:34:56.303
And I think one of the things you don't want to miss,

00:34:56.483 --> 00:35:00.583
especially with this race is that the country is so big and beautiful that there

00:35:00.583 --> 00:35:06.323
are certain times where you need to, you know, make sure that you're able to

00:35:06.323 --> 00:35:09.743
take yourself out of the race a little bit and enjoy what's going on around you.

00:35:10.483 --> 00:35:15.743
All right. So stop for just a moment. Soak it in. Experience the world around you.

00:35:16.390 --> 00:35:21.570
Very cool. Esther, how about your favorite Yukon River Quest race experience?

00:35:21.970 --> 00:35:25.770
I think I'm so lucky in that I've had so many good experiences down there.

00:35:25.930 --> 00:35:27.610
I think the one that makes me laugh.

00:35:28.050 --> 00:35:33.290
I've paddled alongside the Paddlers of Rest team only once of their five years

00:35:33.290 --> 00:35:38.030
and they're a group of breast cancer survivors from the Yukon and friends and

00:35:38.030 --> 00:35:41.590
family and they go down in this awesome great boat and they are quite incredible

00:35:41.590 --> 00:35:45.850
paddlers and it's just such a wonderful thing that they do. and the last race,

00:35:46.010 --> 00:35:46.890
I was paddling behind them.

00:35:47.950 --> 00:35:52.830
Thomas was in front of me going down the lake and we were all sort of using

00:35:52.830 --> 00:35:54.470
their speed to go through.

00:35:55.030 --> 00:35:58.050
One of the good things about being in a Voyager or a team boat is it's a lot

00:35:58.050 --> 00:36:01.770
easier to go to the bathroom if you need to because there's other people stabilizing the boat.

00:36:02.250 --> 00:36:05.530
So every time that they need to go to the bathroom, Thomas and I would pull

00:36:05.530 --> 00:36:08.450
off to the side and they'd go to the bathroom on the other side of the boat

00:36:08.450 --> 00:36:10.490
and we'd all just sort of chat and laugh.

00:36:10.630 --> 00:36:13.770
And it makes you realize then that everyone's

00:36:13.770 --> 00:36:16.750
doing it for their own reasons but there are people out there where the race means

00:36:16.750 --> 00:36:19.850
a great deal for them and they are putting lots of

00:36:19.850 --> 00:36:22.710
effort into it and i'm there maybe trying to

00:36:22.710 --> 00:36:28.150
race for a title or a place or a record but that's sort of second to what most

00:36:28.150 --> 00:36:32.330
people are doing in some ways and it in terms of what racing means to all of

00:36:32.330 --> 00:36:36.790
us like as bill said keeps us fitter it keeps us healthier it gives us an environment

00:36:36.790 --> 00:36:40.650
experience that so many people in this world don't have the opportunity to see.

00:36:40.950 --> 00:36:45.590
And for me, I can still remember that and chatting to Thomas and trying to stay

00:36:45.590 --> 00:36:50.470
on his way because he has a super cool board that's actually quite hard to stay with.

00:36:50.650 --> 00:36:55.170
And I just thought this is such a cool experience in that one moment following along.

00:36:55.570 --> 00:36:58.630
We're all in the same boat, but in different boats. Exactly.

00:36:59.310 --> 00:37:02.970
Thomas, how about your favorite Yukon River Crest race experience?

00:37:03.450 --> 00:37:07.230
Well, one of my favorite race experience,

00:37:07.230 --> 00:37:10.270
it was it was paddling

00:37:10.270 --> 00:37:13.950
towards Dawson City the last

00:37:13.950 --> 00:37:17.330
night when the sun doesn't

00:37:17.330 --> 00:37:20.210
really disappear it disappears a little

00:37:20.210 --> 00:37:23.490
bit but it went up again and shines through

00:37:23.490 --> 00:37:26.690
the trees this view it gave

00:37:26.690 --> 00:37:30.530
me such incredible strength such an

00:37:30.530 --> 00:37:33.630
incredible force I don't know what happened to

00:37:33.630 --> 00:37:39.250
me but then I just started to speed up i had a huge energy and i remember it

00:37:39.250 --> 00:37:44.750
was for about three and a half hours just i was almost flying over the yukon

00:37:44.750 --> 00:37:51.630
river i skipped canoes i four four person boats i just overtook them,

00:37:52.330 --> 00:37:59.050
i just had just such a mental high it was incredible just most of the beauty,

00:37:59.790 --> 00:38:04.950
beautiness of the nature it was after after maybe four 40 hours of paddling

00:38:04.950 --> 00:38:12.010
i just had kind of a high and i just was flying over the river beautiful towards the sun.

00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:18.100
Beautiful. Mirko, how about yours? There are so many very interesting and beautiful

00:38:18.100 --> 00:38:20.840
moments on the river, but I would like to point out one.

00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:26.700
It was in 2019. I paddled nearly, I think, two-thirds of the race with Bartosport.

00:38:26.840 --> 00:38:33.200
Bartosport is the standard paddleboarder, and I think he is the one who well dealt with the board.

00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:37.820
They are allowed to join the race as paddleboarder, and he was such,

00:38:38.020 --> 00:38:42.380
or he is such an experienced paddler. And it was fascinating chatting with him.

00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:46.000
He didn't even use a GPS. He used the river very well.

00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:52.620
And also regarding sleeping, he only made some short naps, one minute or two minutes.

00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:57.340
And I catched up with him and I paddled, yes, two-thirds of the race with him

00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:01.200
together. I learned so much about the race and so much about the current.

00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:07.380
Because in the years before, I always was where there was no current. Other boats well got me.

00:39:07.940 --> 00:39:11.560
So at the end of the race, before the city, we had a lot of headwind.

00:39:11.740 --> 00:39:13.360
And he said, okay, keep on paddling.

00:39:13.600 --> 00:39:16.720
Because as a standard paddleboarder, you have a little disadvantage.

00:39:17.060 --> 00:39:21.760
You have a lot of headwind compared to the sea kayak, which I paddled.

00:39:21.980 --> 00:39:26.520
And at the end of this race, I finished third in my category. It was my best result.

00:39:27.140 --> 00:39:30.500
And, well, it was a beautiful race. It was very challenging.

00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:36.840
But I always remember this race as an event where I learned so much.

00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:40.480
So you mentioned that camaraderie with Bart de Swart.

00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:46.160
And so it sounds like the race is, yes, it's a race, but it's also a community

00:39:46.160 --> 00:39:49.560
where people are connecting with one another and you're having an opportunity

00:39:49.560 --> 00:39:50.960
to talk to others on the river.

00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:55.700
So it's not all a dogfight where you're just battling it out,

00:39:55.860 --> 00:39:59.720
but you're in this together and experiencing it together with the other paddlers.

00:39:59.920 --> 00:40:02.140
Yes, you want to win, but still having a good time.

00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:07.480
100%. Mirko, I've got actually one other question for you. So coming from effectively

00:40:07.480 --> 00:40:10.840
the other side of the world from the race, how you get a boat there?

00:40:11.539 --> 00:40:17.399
Well, regarding the Yukon Rover Quest, it's pretty good for people from Germany,

00:40:17.399 --> 00:40:20.679
from other parts of the world to get the boat because you can rent one.

00:40:21.219 --> 00:40:26.419
There was a guy, he was a German guy or he is a German guy.

00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:32.419
He had a big fleet. Now there's another guy which has the fleet so you can rent the boat.

00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:34.879
You have really good race boats.

00:40:35.479 --> 00:40:40.659
And so you pay to have a boat for this week. You have also included some training

00:40:40.659 --> 00:40:45.739
sessions, and they bring the boat back from Dawson City to Whitehorse.

00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:51.479
So if anyone is interested in doing the race for the first time from Europe,

00:40:51.499 --> 00:40:55.619
for example, you don't have to worry about the fact how to get a boat.

00:40:55.959 --> 00:41:01.159
Just have a look at the website. It's connected. There are several US outfitters

00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:03.899
who will give you boats, and they are pretty good boats.

00:41:04.219 --> 00:41:08.579
Okay. So that's great to know that there is that opportunity to rent a boat.

00:41:08.659 --> 00:41:12.159
So no matter where you're coming from, you don't necessarily have to figure

00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:14.319
out the logistics of getting your boat there. It's just you,

00:41:14.439 --> 00:41:18.999
your personal gear, and you could be able to rent a boat there on site. So that's fantastic.

00:41:20.259 --> 00:41:25.659
Esther, how would someone get involved in this crazy thing? Registration opens on the 25th.

00:41:26.299 --> 00:41:29.899
It's the year of the 25th. So the 25th of November registration is open,

00:41:30.139 --> 00:41:33.399
and the race starts on the 25th of June on 2025.

00:41:33.399 --> 00:41:39.819
So you get involved by registering and then there's a process to go through

00:41:39.819 --> 00:41:44.099
some resumes will get looked at if they're solo paddlers or novice or paddlers

00:41:44.099 --> 00:41:45.419
that haven't been seen before,

00:41:46.199 --> 00:41:49.959
there's a forum a facebook forum to get engaged with with lots of experienced

00:41:49.959 --> 00:41:55.599
racers and ask questions and get some insights read the website check everything

00:41:55.599 --> 00:41:57.159
out ask questions and then,

00:41:57.879 --> 00:42:01.079
especially if you're newish to racing

00:42:01.079 --> 00:42:04.079
or don't know anything about you can't find a local paddling club

00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:07.279
if you're not in one already in whichever town or

00:42:07.279 --> 00:42:12.379
country you're in hook up with some people there that's always a good idea the

00:42:12.379 --> 00:42:16.819
yrq itself will put webinars and what calls on and things like that in specific

00:42:16.819 --> 00:42:21.459
areas if people have questions to look at race training and that sort of thing

00:42:21.459 --> 00:42:24.799
it was the kind of stuff that we've talked about at gear and that sort of space

00:42:24.799 --> 00:42:27.119
but But that's how you get involved because,

00:42:27.299 --> 00:42:29.399
as we've said, you get involved with the community.

00:42:29.399 --> 00:42:33.099
You don't just get involved with turning up and going A to B. Sure.

00:42:33.379 --> 00:42:36.439
What is that website address that people would go to to get more information

00:42:36.439 --> 00:42:38.459
about the race or register if they're ready to go?

00:42:39.257 --> 00:42:43.717
It's a classic, YukonRiverQuest.com, probably, or maybe .ca.

00:42:44.137 --> 00:42:49.417
All right. I'll make sure that I put a link in the show notes to the Yukon RiverQuest website.

00:42:49.617 --> 00:42:52.517
You can also just Google Yukon RiverQuest, and it'll take you there as well.

00:42:52.577 --> 00:42:54.957
But we'll put that link in there for folks to be able to check that out.

00:42:55.037 --> 00:42:58.077
And good to know that they've got a Facebook group that creates that community

00:42:58.077 --> 00:43:02.197
ahead of time so people can start to understand the race and then figure out

00:43:02.197 --> 00:43:05.037
what they're getting into and then learn from the community around them.

00:43:05.697 --> 00:43:10.497
So Thomas, Mirko, Bill, Esther, thank you very much for your time.

00:43:10.617 --> 00:43:13.817
This has been great. I really appreciate the opportunity to hear from you.

00:43:14.157 --> 00:43:19.677
Your common connection is that you're all racers, but that you're also veterans

00:43:19.677 --> 00:43:21.137
of the Yukon River Quest.

00:43:21.217 --> 00:43:25.157
It's a race that has personally captivated me and my attention for many years.

00:43:25.157 --> 00:43:31.837
I've not had the opportunity to do it, but your experiences in it certainly raised that awareness.

00:43:31.837 --> 00:43:36.297
And I hope that if somebody else is thinking about the potential for racing

00:43:36.297 --> 00:43:40.377
and thinking about racing in a beautiful, wild environment, that they consider

00:43:40.377 --> 00:43:42.597
Yukon River Quest. So thank you very much for joining me today.

00:43:43.657 --> 00:43:48.377
Thank you, John. And John, anytime you want to seat in a tandem kayak,

00:43:48.757 --> 00:43:50.377
there's a few of us who will go.

00:43:50.897 --> 00:43:52.857
All right. Good to know. Thank you.

00:43:53.637 --> 00:43:57.497
If you want to be a stronger and more efficient paddler, Power to the Paddle

00:43:57.497 --> 00:44:01.137
is packed with fitness guidance and complete descriptions, along with photos

00:44:01.137 --> 00:44:05.557
of more than 50 exercises to improve your abilities and enjoy your time on the water.

00:44:05.717 --> 00:44:09.557
The concept and exercises in this book have helped me become a better paddler,

00:44:09.617 --> 00:44:11.237
and they can make a difference for you, too.

00:44:11.497 --> 00:44:15.157
The exercises in the book can help you reduce tension in your shoulders and

00:44:15.157 --> 00:44:19.057
low back, use the power of your torso to create leverage and use less energy

00:44:19.057 --> 00:44:22.937
with each stroke. Use force generated from your lower body to make your paddling

00:44:22.937 --> 00:44:23.817
strokes more efficient.

00:44:24.157 --> 00:44:27.737
Have the endurance to handle long days in the boat. Drive through the toughest

00:44:27.737 --> 00:44:31.137
waves or white water. Protect your body against common paddling injuries.

00:44:31.317 --> 00:44:34.397
And while you're at it, you might even lose a few pounds. And who wouldn't mind

00:44:34.397 --> 00:44:38.897
that? So visit paddlingexercises.com to get the book and companion DVD.

00:44:39.317 --> 00:44:44.617
Thanks to Thomas, Bill, Mirko, and Esther for sharing their experiences with this interesting race.

00:44:44.817 --> 00:44:48.137
While competency is certainly key for a wilderness event like this,

00:44:48.137 --> 00:44:50.997
They show that it's achievable as long as you put your mind to it,

00:44:51.337 --> 00:44:53.577
put in the training, and be mentally ready.

00:44:53.857 --> 00:44:57.837
Even if racing isn't your primary focus as a paddler, testing yourself in an

00:44:57.837 --> 00:45:00.157
amazing environment still sounds like a good time.

00:45:01.017 --> 00:45:05.017
2025 will be the 25th anniversary of the race. I'll include links in the show

00:45:05.017 --> 00:45:08.437
notes to resources provided from this group along with a link to the race website.

00:45:08.677 --> 00:45:11.017
And maybe we'll see each other on the start line one day.

00:45:11.577 --> 00:45:16.037
Thanks again to our partners at OnlineSeaKyking.com for extending a special offer to you.

00:45:16.037 --> 00:45:21.597
Visit online seacocking.com enter the code ptbpodcast to check out and get 10

00:45:21.597 --> 00:45:25.357
off just for being a member of the pedaling the blue community until next time

00:45:25.357 --> 00:45:29.897
thanks again for listening and i look forward to bringing you the next episode of pedaling the blue.

00:45:31.623 --> 00:45:34.923
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00:45:34.923 --> 00:45:40.243
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00:45:40.463 --> 00:45:43.383
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00:45:45.423 --> 00:45:48.663
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00:45:48.963 --> 00:45:54.423
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00:45:54.643 --> 00:45:56.563
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00:45:57.040 --> 00:46:03.916
Music.