Every spring, as soon as the ice starts to break in the Yukon, enthusiastic outdoor adventurers race to be the first out paddling on any small stretch of open water they can find. It used to be a safe assumption that these early-season paddlers were training for the annual Yukon River Quest.

This year, the venerable River Quest is not alone on the calendar. The first ever Yukon 1,000 Canoe and Kayak Race is set to start in Whitehorse on July 20, and the inaugural Yukon 360 will be held on Discovery Day weekend, August 15 to 17.

Entries are still being accepted for both the Yukon 1,000 and the Yukon 360.

The Yukon 1,000 is a 1,000 mile (1,600-km) wilderness race. Paddlers are required to paddle the 1,000 miles down the great Yukon River through Canada and Alaska from Whitehorse to the Dalton Highway Bridge, north of Fairbanks, where the Alaska Pipeline crosses the river.

The progress of teams is tracked using Spot devices (see http://findmespot.com).

These enable the teams to send their current location via the satellite phone network to race control where their position is automatically updated on the web page.

One of the rules of the race is that teams must stop overnight: in late July it gets dark at night, even in the low Arctic the river travels through.

Compliance with this rule is also checked using the data from the Spot devices as teams must check in in the evening and in the morning from the same place.

The Yukon is a big river in Whitehorse, and only gets bigger as various other rivers join it along the way.

Teams will paddle Lake Laberge, famous for the "cremation of Sam McGee", the beautiful and historic 30 Mile River, past the Gold-Rush town of Dawson, across the border into Alaska and into the Yukon Flats there the river slows and becomes enormously wide with

multiple channels.

The Yukon 1,000 currently has 18 teams of world-class endurance paddlers registered, including veterans and winners of several other major ultra-marathon paddling events.

They will be racing 1,000 miles down the Yukon River for seven to 10 days. Teams will compete in tandem canoes, kayaks and voyageur canoes.

Teams of two can compete in solo canoes or kayaks traveling together.

Less than a month after the Yukon 1000, the Yukon 360 kicks off. Interest is growing dramatically, and many entrants are anticipated.

The Yukon 360 is a unique race in that it will take place on different rivers in the Yukon each year.

This year, the Yukon 360 will start in Johnson's Crossing and end in Carmacks, incorporating stretches of both the Teslin and Yukon Rivers.

Next year the Yukon 360 will be on the Pelly River.

The Yukon River is becoming a Mecca for endurance paddling events with three big races and lots of smaller racers.

Time is running out for participants to prepare for the Yukon 1,000.

The relevant American and Canadian authorities have given their approval, the race monitoring software has been successfully tested, and the excitement is building for the teams currently registered.

There is huge interest amongst the people living along the river on the Alaska side of the border.

Every village, every fish camp, every boat from Eagle to the bridge will be watching for the racers, with reports from Circle, Fort Yukon and Stevens Village.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can call Peter Coates a call at 668-4630.