Amongst hundreds of competitors from all over the world, a couple of Yukoners managed to standout at two separate racing championships.

Adventure racers Greg and Denise McHale took some time off competing together on the same team to join up with a couple of other pre-existing squads.

Greg was recruited for the 2008 Adventure Racing World Championships as a member on Team Marrell, which is one of the heavyweights in the sport, while Denise's skills as a runner earned her a spot on Team Canada for the 100-km world championships. Both competitions were held early on in November.

Both Greg and Denise were a major asset to the two teams, which has resulted in Greg being offered a spot on a squad at another upcoming adventure race in Portugal, which will be held at the end of November. Denise's abilities also weren't overlooked and has been invited back as a member of Team Canada at next year's 100-km world championships, which will be held in Belgium.

Denise finished with an impressive time of eight hours and 32 minutes, which was the fastest among the five other Canadian female team members. Her time ranked her 23rd out of the 160 female competitors at the championships.

"It was a good way to end the season," Denise said. "We have had a tough year, so I was happy just to have had a good run and to have met my goals and to be healthy."

Denise qualified for the 100-km world championships thanks to an outstanding run in her first-ever ultra race back in May 2007.

Both Denise and Greg have had success in individual-based competitions, which included a dominating performances at the Rock and Ice Ultra in Yellowknife back in March.

In Yellowknife, Greg ended up finishing with the best time in the six day competition, while Denise finished an impressive third overall, for both men and women, in the three day competition.

Unfortunately after the Rock and Ice Ultra the two ran into some bad luck, including having to pull out of July's Primal Quest adventure race because of an injury to one of their teammates.

At the time when they were forced to pull out of the Primal Quest, the McHale's team was in a close battle for second place with Team Marrell. The group was around a day away from finishing the race when they had to call it quits.

Denise's most recent unlucky break came at an ultra running competition in Lethbridge, Alberta in August. Heading into the final loop keeping pace with the leading group, the race was called off due to a heavy thunderstorm.

Her next competition will be at the 2009 Rock and Ice Ultra, which will feature a women's category for the first time in the history of the competition.

Denise said she enjoyed her time in Italy and representing Canada for the first time.

"It was great to go over and meet all of the other Canadians," she said. "We had a really good group and everybody was just a really positive."

This year's World Adventure Racing Championships were held in Brazil. This was Greg's third world championships, but the first time he competed on an adventure racing team without Denise.

As a result of a recurring hip injury to one of its members, Team Marrell ended up falling well short of its goal to win the championships. Despite being able to make up a lot of ground on the fourth and final day, the group ended up in 13th place.

Besides Greg, Team Marrell included one Australian and two Americans.

Greg said he was disappointed about the team's final placing.

"It was kind of tough on all of us because we are not where we wanted to be, but I think the most important thing was we didn't quit," he said. "I think one of the best things is that we didn't do that."

Despite not being pleased about the team coming in 13th, Greg was happy with how he did individually.

"I had a good race personally," he said. "I felt very strong and I did most of the towing on the team. So I felt good about my personal race, but it's not a personal event, it's a team event."

Both Denise and Greg are hoping to find some sponsors for the upcoming season, so they can put together a team of their own.

Greg said he is confident about the upcoming year.

"I'm totally confident about turning things around," he said. "We have other guys that want to race with us. It's just a matter of getting some money together and maybe even look at getting some local sponsors to help out."