Great times posted at this year’s Yukon Adventure Challenge; race held Saturday

There were plenty of winners at the third annual Yukon Adventure Challenge, which showcased the Yukon’s talent in the sport. 
The event was held on Saturday and featured three separate categories for the competition.
The main category was the four person co-ed team, which was won by Team Misadventure, who posted an impressive time of 14 hours and five minutes. Team Misadventure was made up of Pam James, Simon Lapoint, Philip Mouchet and Jonathon Kerr.
Misadventure was given the waterproof backpacks from Outdoor Research, one-year memberships to either the Better Bodies Cross Training Centre or Peak Fitness and some bike repair tools. 
The second place group in the four-person category was Team Better Bodies, who came in at 15 hours and 45 minutes, while Team Thick and Thin rounded out the top three coming in at 18 hours and 27 minutes.
Team Steele won bragging rights in the two person category, finishing at 16 hours and 58 minutes. The duo consisted of Tom Wyers and Justine Fradette. Wyers and Fradette were the only two who finished in this category.
Mike Martin posted the best time at the event, finishing the adventure challenge at 11 hours and 40 minutes.
Ryan Leef wasn’t far behind, placing second with his time of 12 hours and 50 minutes, while Chris Koch came in at 13 hours and 42 minutes to round out the top three.
This year’s race began and ended in Carcross. From Carcross the competitors took to their mountain bikes and made their way up Montana Mountain. After going up and over Montana Mountain, competitors followed the Sam McGee Trail down to the next leg of the adventure challenge.
The next aspect of the race was confined to the the beautiful waters of Tagish Lake, as competitors were required to paddle northeast back in the direction towards Carcross. After teams and individuals completed the paddling challenge, they then made the final race transition to trekking.
The running element of the event was along Carcross country where individuals had to overcome a second mountain discipline by hiking up Caribou Mountain.

From the top of Caribou Mountain, they then ran back down through the Carcross desert and finished by making it back into town.
The race’s format was shortened this year from 2007 when it was a 24 to 36 hour event to a 12 to 18 hour challenge. The 2007 adventure challenge was around 160 km.
There was no cash purse at the race and all teams were competing for prizes donated by a variety of the event’s sponsors. 
One of the larger sponsors of this year’s Yukon Adventure Challenge was Outdoor Research, which supplied various gear, such as waterproof backpacks and hats.
Other sponsors of the race included Up North Adventures, Icycle Sports and Coast Mountain Sports.
The majority of the prizes were equipment geared towards adventure racing, such as chain repair kits and other bike maintenance supplies.