RACE DATES – June 26-29, 2019: see 2019 Schedule!

Welcome to the official Yukon River Quest web site. The Yukon River Quest is an annual marathon paddling race. Paddlers come from around the world to test their endurance, racing day and night to the Klondike on one of North America’s great rivers. It is open to solo and tandem canoes and kayaks, solo stand-up paddle boards (SUP0, and bigger C4 and Voyageur canoes. Please fully explore our site for information on how to participate in this great event, whether as a racer, a member of a support crew, or as volunteer. The Yukon River passes through Five First Nations on our race route: Kwanlin Dun, Ta’an Kwachan Council, Little Salmon/Carmacks, Selkirk, and Trondek Hwechin. Our race honours their culture and those who have lived off the river and nurtured it for centuries.

21ST ANNUAL YUKON RIVER QUEST: JUNE 26 – JUNE 30, 2019 

FINAL REGISTRATION UPDATE: PRE-RACE ROSTER SET (06-11-19) –  The 21st annual YRQ will have a pre-race start list of 124 teams as of today’s date. On June 1, the last day to register, the paid registration list was still at the max 125, and prize money has been adjusted upward to reflect this (it will not change if teams drop). See latest Race Preview Press Release for details and other information about this year’s record field!  Currently the classes break down this way:

 Tandem Canoe (C2): 41 teams (22 men’s, 8 women’s, 11 mixed)

 Tandem Kayak (K2): 17 teams (6 men’s, 2 women’s, 9 mixed)

 Voyageur Canoe (VC): 13 teams (6 men’s, 5 women’s, 2 mixed)

 4-person Canoe (C4): 9 teams (4 men’s, 2 women’s, 3 mixed)

 Solo Kayak (K1): 25 teams (20 men, 5 women)

 Solo Canoe (C1): 8 teams (5 men, 3 women)

 Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP): 11 teams (9 men, 2 women)

Thirteen countries are now represented: Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, Norway (new), United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Papua New Guinea (new), France, Austria, and Ireland. See list of all teams on the TEAM BIOS page, submit training photos, and follow updates regularly on our YRQ FACEBOOK page.

 RACERS & SUPPORT CREWS INFO: Racers please go through the RULES & PREPARATION part of our site to view our 2019 Rules, Racers Briefing, and see what you are required to carry on this journey, including a new First Aid Kit.  Check out the FAQs to learn more about navigation, insurance requirements, support at Carmacks, how to get back from Dawson, and more. Support crews should check out the SUPPORT link above to view a separate Support Briefing and learn more about what you need to do to help your team get to the finish line! Updated 2019 SCHEDULE now available!

 STILL NEEDED!!! – VOLUNTEERS – LIFEBLOOD OF THE YRQ: Sign up now for 2019!  More than 300 of you made our race shine under the Midnight Sun for our 20th Anniversary!  Help us carry on into our third decade. Sign in on our new VOLUNTEER page and then view the different jobs available. 

 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS – SUPPORT THE YRQ:  We have a lot of great sponsors who help us immensely in making this a great race. Please view our SPONSOR PAGE for a list of everyone big and small, including last year’s BIB SPONSORS!  We have several sponsorship levels to show your support for the race. Our popular bib program is a great way for small businesses to both help the race and support a team. Click here for a 2019 Bib Sponsorship Form (due June 15th). 

20TH ANNIVERSARY RACE REVIEW: Read about our incredible 20TH ANNIVERSARY race week with wonderful events in Whitehorse, Carmacks and Dawson, where more than 300 YRQ paddlers, support crew members, and volunteers marched in the Canada Day parade after the race. During our Awards Ceremony, we unveiled our GREAT RIVER CLUB of 5,000 and 10,000 kms paddlers!  Click on our YRQ RACE TRACKER page, courtesy of Yukon 1000 Software, where you can see complete results in every class and category and replay the whole race!  Also see our AWARDS PRESS RELEASE for a list of winners: Yukon Wide Adventures repeated as overall champion, beating Paddlesport Mongrels from the United Kingdom by about an hour, and a new Mixed K2 Record was set by the third place overall team, The Kiwis. We had a record 103 teams start and 76 finished. Congrats to all!  NEW! See German magazine Kanusport article on 20th Anniversary Race:  Yukon_River_Quest_Kanusport_022019 . 

BECOME A MEMBER OF YRMPA: Join the Yukon River Marathon Paddlers Association for just $20 a year (adults), $10 a year (juniors 18 & under), or $100 for lifetime. Email the race office for details or attend our December AGM and consider joining the YRMPA Board to help us plan the race. Meetings are monthly most of the year, and more frequent the two months before the race. See our new Vision, Values and Mission statements on our ABOUT US page. 

YRMPA BOARD NEWS:  At the Annual General Meeting on December 4, the following were elected to serve in 2019: President Peter Coates; Vice-President Deb Bartlett; Secretary Spencer Edelman; Treasurer Lidwien Hanrath; Directors Jason Biensch, Stan Fordyce, Jeff Brady, Carmen Gustafson, Roger Hanberg (past president), Jim Boyde, Hank Moorlag, Anne Jessup, Harry Kern, Stephen Mooney. Meetings are happening more frequently now that we are getting closer to the race.  Next Meeting: YRMPA Board Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in Sport Yukon Room 2.