It's been a long and at some points grueling season for adventure racers Greg and Denise McHale, but everyone knows success doesn't come easy, and this past season was certainly successful for the Yukon duo.

As part of Team Supplierpipeline, the McHales joined with Ontario teammates Bob Miller and Scott Ford for a fourth place finish at Primal Quest, the largest adventure race in the world, earlier this year in Utah.

Following Primal Quest, the team took a few months off from international competition as Greg battled a staph infection he suffered from a leg injury in Utah. In October, they returned to action at the Extreme Adventure Hidalgo in Mexico.

A four-day, 300-kilometre stage race, Hidalgo offered the typical adventure course of running, trekking, mountain biking, rope work and paddling although the paddling portion had its own local twist.

'We paddled local Mexican boats,' explained Denise. 'They were very tippy. I think it's entertainment for the locals.'

Thankfully, the McHales had been in the same type of boat before, so it wasn't too much of an adjustment. Up against some tough pro teams, including rival Nike PowerBlast a team the McHale's have publicly vowed to beat before they retire Team Supplierpipeline finished second overall, ahead of Nike.

The only team ahead of them boasted a local Mexican athlete, so they certainly had an edge in the navigation portion of the race.

Greg and Denise agreed the toughest portion of the race for the Canadian crew was probably the mountain biking.

'Living in the Yukon, we're not always able to be out on trails,' Greg explained. 'So we're going from a spinning machine to racing in the mountains. It's certainly difficult.'

A second-place finish and $12,500 in the books, the McHales were able to return home for just three weeks before they headed to a second race in Mexico at the end of November.

The Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge took place in the surrounding area of Monterrey, hosting the top international teams in the world. Run by the same director and in the same format as the Hidalgo race, Nuevo Leon provided Greg and Denise with the chance to challenge themselves against some tougher opponents.

While Hidalgo featured six good professional teams, the second event had close to a dozen top teams. Unfortunately for Team Supplierpipeline, bad luck would strike in the mountain biking stage, en route to a third-place finish.

They had four flat tires on the last 20 kilometres of Stage 2. At that point, the top five teams were within five minutes of each other and the Canadians lost an estimated 20 minutes on that section, which they couldn't make up.

'On Day 3, we had another flat tire and Denise fell off her bike and scraped her face,' said Greg. 'It was just really unfortunate.

'The first-place team and I think even the second-place team, neither of them had a flat tire all race. That's just the way it goes.'

Overall, said Greg, they still had a better race at Monterrey.

'We didn't place as well, but I think we were fitter.'

'I think we pushed hard at the appropriate times,' added Denise. 'We were trying to find that balance of pushing as hard as you can, but not going so hard you're going to pay for it later.'

Not only were they pleased with their personal performances, but the McHales returned home knowing they accomplished another goal beating Nike in both Mexico races.

'(Beating Nike) happened a little bit earlier that we expected, so we're happy about that,' smiled Denise. 'It was certainly on the list of things we wanted to accomplish.'

As good as it felt to come out ahead of Nike, Greg was adamant it's a friendly rivalry between the two teams.

'They're not only fantastic athletes, but fantastic people as well. You can't hate them too much.'

At home and back on the job now, after taking a couple of weeks to enjoy the lighter side of Mexico, the duo is trying to figure out their next move.

While this racing season is over, it's only a few months before the 2007 scene gets hopping. However, there's no rush for the Yukoners, insisted Denise.

'We're taking at least a few weeks off. I can't wait to work out once a day like a normal person and relax a little more. You really need that break. You have to let go a little bit and not worry about it too much.'

One thing the McHales are sure of is that the next race they enter will have more kilometres. There's an expedition race in Argentina in March that they're aiming for.

'It's 550 km, so that'll be good,' said Greg. 'After two kind of sprint races, it'll be good to get back to a longer race.

'I think we surprised ourselves in those two races, how well we ran. But I think we like expedition ones more. Unsupported is better than supported.'

'I like (expedition races) because they're a little bit slower,' added Denise. 'They're not as as stressful, so I feel like I can keep up with the guys more.'

Team Supplierpipeline is definitely planning to return to Primal Quest next summer as well, although the dates and location have yet to be announced. All they've heard is it's outside of North America in 2007.

After Primal Quest, they hope to get one more mid-summer race in before heading back to Mexico next fall.

'This was definitely our best season, so we're starting to see more potential,' said Denise. 'Before this year, we were at the front end of the mid-pack and there was always kind of a gap between us and the top pack. Now, we've really closed that, which is exciting. We're not finishing 12 hours behind anymore.'

'Now, we're beating those teams we've idolized over the past five years,' added Greg.

Meanwhile, on tap locally, Greg and Denise will once again be organizing the Yukon Adventure Challenge, a 24-36 hour race geared toward both beginner and elite athletes. There is no date for the 2007 event yet, but the course has already been set and it's apparently a lot more scenic than last year.