2025 Race Wrap-Up: Awards and More

On Friday morning, twelve hours after the cut-off time for racers to reach this year’s abbreviated finish line in Carmacks, paddlers and support crews gathered for a buffet breakfast and an awards ceremony on the shore above the Yukon River. Race coordinator Cynthia “Cyd” Onions, emceeing, began by acknowledging that we were gathered on the land of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. She also thanked the Coal Mine Campground for hosting us all and extending their hospitality on short notice.

The 2025 Yukon River Quest was put on by 170 race-week volunteers, Onions noted, along with seven key organizers working for months behind the scenes. “A small team worked around the clock for this race,” she said.

Before the awards began, YRQ co-founder Jeff Brady got up and said a few words, noting that the book he and author John Firth have put together for the race’s 25^th anniversary will be available for pre-orders soon. It will include stories, photos, and, Brady said, everything from “peeing in the boat to paddling through smoke.”

Then it was time for the finishers’ pins and medals. Every official race finisher receives a pin, while paddlers who make the podium in their boat class and division also receive a medal, and some categories include special prizes as well.

Onions began by presenting the two finishers of this year’s Yukon 300 – that is, the two paddlers who officially signed up to paddle only as far as Carmacks. Lee Alexander of the UK was the sole finisher in the open K1 division, while Sandra Schuschkleb, aka team “Nauti & Nice,” finished in the women’s K1, taking an hour off her own course record.

Among the racers who had registered to paddle the full distance to Dawson, there were eleven finishers in the open K1 division. In eleventh place was Carter Powis, the race’s overall Red Lantern winner (an honour, adapted from long-distance dogsledding, for the racer who is out on the course the longest). Eddie Wood finished in 10^th, and Claude Frigon, aka “Surfskibum,” in 9^th, followed by 8^th place Brad Spooner, 7^th place Franco Barbiero (team name “Raging Bull Moose”), 6^th place Donovan de Beer (“Are We There Yet?”) and 5^th place Jeff M. Devlin (“River Runner”). In 4^th place, Mike Ennis, aka “Liquid Courage,” arrived in Carmacks in just under 24 hours, clocking in at 23 hours, 42 minutes, and 9 seconds, good for 22^nd overall.

On the open K1 podium were Wayne Anderson (“Golden Retriever”) in 3^rd place, 15^th overall, with a time of 22 hours, 48 minutes, and 43 seconds. Just four minutes ahead of him was Christopher Thomas in 2^nd place, 12^th overall, with a finish time of 22 hours, 44 minutes, and 52 seconds. And in 1^st place was Bernard Moyersoen, aka “Belgian Bear,” who raced a C2 to the finish line and finished sixth overall with a time of 21 hours, 25 minutes, and 5 seconds.

There were eight finishers in this year’s women’s K1 division. Marie-Hélène Lance, aka “Kayabitibi,” took 8^th place, followed by Julie Mitravich (“Chivita”) in 7^th, Lauren Muench aka “Running Scared” in 6^th, Kristin Broadus (“Bayou Jeepsy”) in 5^th, and Kimberly Dodds (“Stroke of Serendipity”) in 4^th place.

On the women’s K1 podium, Michelle Bousquet aka “Midnight Sun” took 3^rd Place in 24 hours and 36 minutes flat, good for 33^rd overall. Carling Zeeman and Esther Wheeler (“Yukoned Me Into It”) finished just three seconds apart: Zeeman took 2^nd place with a time of 23 hours, 42 minutes, and 4 seconds, while Wheeler finished in 1^st place in 23 hours, 24 minutes, and 1 second.

Facing down the Yukon River Quest in a solo canoe is always daunting. This year, five racers in the C1 open division completed the race: Lucas Holtzman landed in 5^th place, while Frank Kingman aka “Frank Yu Kan” took 4^th. Just fifteen seconds ahead of Kingma, Matthew Smith finished in 3^rd place with a time of 26 hours, 31 minutes, and 55 seconds, good for 50^th overall. In second place was Mike de Abreu (“Mike and All His Friends”) who made it to Carmacks in 24 hours, 13 minutes, and 28 seconds, putting him 28^th overall. And in 1^st place was Jan Bašta, aka “Octopus Shipyard,” who beat de Abreu to the line by three minutes, finishing in 24 hours, 10 minutes, and 35 seconds, 27^th overall.

There were no finishers in this year’s women’s C1 division.

Three racers finished in the women’s SUP division: Sheena Bull took 3^rd place, 79^th overall. Alison Wood, aka “Ocean Ambassadors Canada,” finished in 2^nd, 68^th overall, and Weronika Murray landed in 1^st place, with a time of 27 hours, 33 minutes, and 36 seconds, good for 56^th overall.

In the open SUP division, ten racers made it to the finish line. Martin Reinberg finished in 10^th place, 82^nd overall, while there was a precise tie, down to the second, for 8^th place, shared by Alex Joseph and Billy Bender (“Wuzsup”) in 80^th spot overall. (More on that remarkable result further down below!) They were followed by Jim Salter in 7^th, Dan Oatley in 6^th, Craig Sawyer in 5^th, and Tyler Fissel in 4^th. On the open SUP podium: James Matthews (“Jimbo”) landed in 3^rd place, 61^st overall, with a time of 28 hours, 1 minute, and 15 seconds. Thomas Schillig took 2^nd place, 39^th overall, in 25 hours and 27 minutes flat. And Peter Allen, aka “SUP N Irish,” finished in 1^st place, 37^th overall, arriving in Carmacks in 25 hours, 6 minutes, and 46 seconds.

That was it for the soloists! In the tandem boat classes, Onions began by presenting to the 14 teams that finished in the C2 open division – four of them in the overall top 10. Team “Stroke of Luck” landed in 14^th place, followed by “Portage Gang” in 13^th, “Yukon’s Catch Us” in 12^th, “Clara’s Minions” in 11^th, “Wardun Longshots” in 10^th, “Strokes of Genius” in 9^th, “The Ginger Seas” in 8^th, “Two Bros No Clue” in 7^th, “Pimiskatan” in 6^th, “Watch Our Huge Wake” in 5^th place, and “Beaver Fever” in 4^th place, good for 10^th overall.

On the podium, in 3^rd place, were brothers John and Josh Apostol, team “River Racing,” who finished in 7^th overall with a time of 21 hours, 53 minutes, and 27 seconds. In second place, Jake Paleczny and Crispin Studer (“Rage Against the Current”) were also fifth overall, coming into Carmacks in 21 hours, 24 minutes, and 55 seconds, and they also took this year’s prize for the top finishers from the Yukon, winning a six-pack from Yukon Brewing. (“Hold that beer above your head, man,” the race’s official photographer advised Studer as they posed for photos. “Arms don’t go that high,” Paleczny said.”) In 1^st place, and 2^nd overall, was team “Mike and Steve,” made up of Michael Schlimmer and Steven Landick, who finished in a speedy 20 hours, 24 minutes, and 26 seconds.

Three teams finished in the women’s C2 division. Jena Mailloux and Hayleigh Conway, aka “Purple Pant Paddle Pals,” took 3^rd place, while Elysia Estee and Kelly Reid of “Second Sisu” finished 2^nd. In 1^st place, 26^th overall, was team “Muskoka Gold,” made up of paddlers Cecily Dawson and Emily Carty. They arrived in Carmacks in 24 hours, 8 minutes, and 28 seconds.

In the C2 mixed category, there were six teams that finished: “Sourdough Express” landed in sixth place, “Drifty Ducks” took fifth place, and “FusteeTheHun x LaneTheCanuck” finished in 4^th. On the podium, in 3^rd place and 42^nd overall, were Marie Laforme and Matthew Smith of team “Mars and Murrie,” with a time of 25 hours, 43 minutes and 38 seconds. Leslie Davenport and Paul Adams of “Last Minute Madness” took 2^nd place, 31^st overall, finishing in 24 hours, 29 minutes, and 5 seconds. And “We’re Here for the Hallucinations,” made up of paddlers Jason Doucet and Darrelle Butler, finished in 1^st place, 9^th overall, with a time of 21 hours, 22 minutes, and 16 seconds.

Three teams from Estonia dominated the tandem kayak divisions this year, where winners of each category received handmade glasses from Lumel Studios in Whitehorse.

There was just one finishing team in the women’s K2 division: “Nauti Girls” Ryan Gillikin and Gayle Taylor finished in 26 hours, 20 minutes, and 46 seconds, good for 47^th overall. In the K2 mixed, an Estonian team, Maili Jorro and Sixten Korge aka “Far From Home,” placed 2^nd, and 14^th overall, in 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 33 seconds. In 1^st place were two of their compatriots: Riinu Rätsep and Priit Kaldmäe, “Paddling for Est,” finished in 21 hours, 22 minutes, and 16 seconds, good for 4^th place overall. And in the K2 open division, John Harley and David Berg, “Backside Paddlers,” finished in 2^nd place, 55^th overall. In 1^st place, and 3^rd overall, were Rait Hutrov and Marek Lindmaa, “Estonian Vikings,” who made it to Carmacks in 20 hours, 48 minutes, and 25 seconds.

In the bigger boats, there were four finishing teams in each of the C4 open and C4 mixed categories.

In C4 open, “Nacho Cheese” finished in 4^th place, 44^th overall. On the podium, “Raindogs” took 3^rd place, 34^th overall, finishing in 24 hours, 53 minutes, and 20 seconds. “Mind Over Liquid” was in 2^nd place, 17^th overall, in 23 hours and 15 minutes flat. And team “Northwestel” took 1^st, and 8^th overall, in 22 hours, 8 minutes, and 8 seconds.

“Corn Country Canoein’” took 4^th place in the C4 mixed division, good for 64^th overall. “Water We Doing Here?”landed in 3^rd place, 48^th overall, with a time of 26 hours, 27 minutes, and 4 seconds, while “Searching for Dawson” took 2^nd, 43^rd overall, finishing in 25 hours, 46 minutes, and 30 seconds. In 1^st place,13^th overall, was team “Mooseskin,” who arrived at the finish line in 22 hours, 45 minutes, and 54 seconds.

There were four finishers in the women’s voyageur division this year, most of them familiar names to regular YRQ watchers. “Paddlers Abreast” placed 4^th this year, and 41^st overall. “Team Whoa” landed in 3^rd place, 35^th overall, with a time of 24 hours, 54 minutes, and 15 seconds, while “Teeth to the Wind” took 2^nd place, 18^th overall, in 23 hours, 17 minutes, and 8 seconds. And Stix Together once again took 1^st place, 11^th overall, with a time of 22 hours, 41 minutes, and 16 seconds.

(At this point, there was a pause in the awards while Cheryl Rivest of Stix Together announced her team’s annual fundraiser for the Yukoner Cancer Care Fund, a fund that supports Yukoners with a cancer diagnosis. “As we know,” Rivest said, “that can be a lot tougher than paddling in the Yukon River Quest.” This year, Stix Together was raffling off a Klondike gold nugget worth $4,000. The team has raised $140,000 since 2016.)

In the mixed voyageur division, “Skagway Stoke Boat” took 2^nd place, and 23^rd overall, finishing in 23 hours, 46 minutes, and 53 seconds. In 1^st place, and 20^th overall, was “Team Ts’alvit,” in 23 hours, 35 minutes, and 43 seconds.

Four teams finished in the open voyageur division. Saskatchewan’s “Wapawikoscikan Opimiskawak” took 4^th place, 74^th overall, while “Canoe Believe It” finished in 3^rd, 67^th overall, with a final time of 28 hours, 20 minutes, and 27 seconds. “Mix Match 3” landed in 2^nd place, 49^th overall, in 26 hours, 30 minutes, and 5 seconds. And the 1^st place in the division, also our first overall winner this year, was team “Green Machine.” British paddlers Nick Onley, Richard Parrott, Olly Thomson, Jon Coventry, Thor Harley, and Peter Jones finished the race in a blazing time of 20 hours, 12 minutes, and 35 seconds.

After all that came the special awards. In the Great River Club, Cheryl Rivest of team “Stix Together” was inducted into the 5K club, meaning she has completed 5000 kilometres worth of Yukon River Quests. And Pauline Frost, racing this year as part of team “Mooseskin,” joined the 10K club, having completed an astonishing 10,000 kilometres of YRQ racing.

Race marshall Deb Bartlette presented the 2025 Spirit of the Yukon Award, given to individuals or teams who show an exceptional level of sportsmanship during the race. This year, Bartlette also awarded two honourable mentions. One went to Yukon Search and Rescue, who provided the safety boats on Lake Laberge, renewing a relationship with the YRQ that existed back in the early years of the race. The second went to Mitch and William Holt (“Clara’s Minions”), a father-son team who delayed their own race to provide assistance to a racer whose tracker had stopped working.

The 2025 Spirit of the Yukon Award was shared between two racers. The pair had first entered the Yukon River Quest in 2020, Bartlette explained, and that year, of course, the race was canceled due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Then they each entered again in 2021, the year the race wound up being canceled by flooding that threatened homes in Carmacks and elsewhere, and raised water levels throughout the Yukon River system. In 2022, they were both back again, but didn’t make it past the Lower Laberge checkpoint: “Lower Laberge, where paddling dreams go to die,” Bartlette quipped. After that, in 2023, neither of them competed, and in 2024, when they’d both been persuaded to return, “the lake was ugly.” Once again the pair did not make it beyond Lower Laberge.

This year, the duo supported one another through 300 kilometres of the Yukon River, ultimately crossing the finish line in an exact tie, with their arms linked. “They did not give up,” said Bartlette. “They worked together. They came across the finish line together.” The winners of the 2025 Spirit of the Yukon Award were SUPers Alex Joseph of Alberta and Billy Bender of Washington.

Thank you for following along with the 2025 Yukon River Quest! We’ll be back next year with more feats of paddling endurance, and more incredible stories from the beautiful Yukon River.