World's longest canoe and kayak race launched in Yukon

The first running of the world's longest canoe and kayak race was launched in Whitehorse Monday morning, as 16 teams headed down the Yukon River for a 1,600-kilometre paddle.

It's called the Yukon 1000 (1,000 miles), and will take paddlers anywhere from seven to 10 days to reach the finish in central Alaska.

Gordon Warnica and Allan Billard came from Nova Scotia to compete.

Warnica, 63, of Fall River, N.S., is a veteran adventurer. He hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003, canoed the Hayes River in 2005 and has completed the Vermont 100-mile endurance race.

Warnica said this is the right race at the right time for them.

"At our age, we're looking for adventures. Maybe the things we didn't have time to do or weren't in shape to do when we were young. Now we have a little bit of time and this should be fun," he said.

Billard, 59, is from Dartmouth, N.S. On the Yukon 1000 website, he lists 50 years of experience in outdoor adventure. He has 20 years of experience in marathon canoe racing in Nova Scotia, as well as in Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, the U.S. and Europe.

The race is unique because there are no checkpoints or support personnel along the river. Instead, the teams will be monitored by GPS to ensure they stop each night for at least six hours.