Four hours racing in a canoe would be a daunting task for most people.
Pat Turner is not like most people.
A week after he and his brother Tim finished the grueling 2 1/2-day, 715-kilometre Yukon River Quest on the Yukon River from Whtehorse to Dawson City, Turner plans to get back in his canoe with his wife, Nadine Caron, to compete Sunday in the Northern Hardware Canoe Race.
Revived last year after a 31-year absence as part of the city's 100th birthday celebration, the Northern Hardware race offers paddlers in canoes and kayaks a choice of two routes. The 67.5 km Alexander Mackenzie race starts at 9 a.m. Sunday on the Nechako River at Isle Pierre, while the 25 km Simon Fraser route starts at about 11 a.m. at Miworth, west of Prince George.
Both routes end at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park.
Last year, Turner and his paddling partner Greg Blackburn finished just 20 seconds behind race winners Mike and Fiona Vincent of Regina, who completed the Mackenzie course in 3:39:43. Blackburn is entered this year on a two-man team with Ryan Stepka of Ottawa.
Randy Brooks of Salmon Arm and Chris Nicholson of Sun Peaks set the pace last year in the Simon Fraser race, finishing in 1:26:30.
"I'm looking at this race this weekend and, four hours, I think I can make it through," said Turner. "It's barely a warm-up (compared to Yukon River Quest) but the intensity is a little bit higher and this Sunday will be very interesting.
"We're taking it semi-seriously. We're going to have a great adventure and just want to be part of the flow. We don't want to miss it and the party at the end."
Online registration is available at strideandglide.ca. As of Wednesday, close to 60 paddlers had entered. Last year's race drew 28 boats in the Mackenzie class and 31 in the Simon Fraser event.
The city bridges over the Nechako offer unobstructed views of the race. The fastest paddlers will likely be finishing at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday
