Finishing the YRQ, Not for the Faint of Heart

"We sprinted for the last 40 minutes. I sure hope we broke the record!" said the exhausted Liz and Veronica of the "Dawson before Dusk" team. Indeed they did.

The two 40-something year old's barreled over the finish line in under 49 hours winning them a total of $1100. Not a huge amount of trophy winnings but money isn't suppose to be the incentive, rather it's the bragging rights.

"It's the human spirit that propels you. The human spirit is what got us here," said Liz.

The 11th annual 2009 Canoe and Kayak River Quest Race on the Yukon River is officially over. 73 teams started the race on Wednesday and 56 finished, the last champ being solo kayaker David Peters. He struggled in at over 60 hours of paddling but completed all 460 miles, a feat few can brag about.

Others like Ingrid Wilcox from Germany and Heinz Rodinger from Austria, both in their 60's, proved that willpower and endurance have more to do with finishing than age. Both smiled big for the cameras and lifted their paddles in joy as a bullhorn whistle cracked the air. Dozens of friends and family cheered in support of their perseverance and bravery.

Some racers spend a year or more in training. They scout the terrain with GPS systems, draw up fancy maps, hit the gym for hours and stock up on high protein energy bars. But the key to success really is picking a teammate you can trust, communicate and survive hellish conditions with. A teammate strong enough to endure heavy storms, bug bites and white water rapids.

A cold, wet and windy night cramped tightly in a narrow kayak can kill the spirit in no time. That's why it helps to have a teammate who can respond quickly to not only physical setbacks but mental too.

Teams like "London Pride", a voyager canoe of 7 guys from the UK know that only too well. They had to dock for 3 hours while one of their souls recovered from hypothermia and dysentery in the middle of the night. They refused defeat though making it across the finish line in 18th place.