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Peter Coates, the former Yukon River Quest president and a current member of the board of directors said it takes "a special sort of person鈥� to do the Quest alone.

Three days of almost no sleep, unpredictable open waters, temperatures that can drop well below zero and no one to help you along the 715-km remote wilderness journey.

For the fourth year in a row, Chris Spoor decided that sounded like a good idea to him.

The River Quest veteran was the first solo paddler to arrive to Dawson, pulling in with a time of 45 hours and six minutes.

It was the second year in a row he had won the solo division and described the victory as unexpected.

"It feels great, it feels awesome but again I didn't think I would finish at the top,鈥� he said.

Spoor, who hails from B.C., battled Shaun Thrower of Great Britain and a top solo paddler, for much of the race.

Spoor said that because of the competition and endurance of keeping pace with Spoor, he struggled with the last 50-kilometres into Dawson.

"I hammered early on because I wanted to catch Percy (Thrower) and this last bit was a lot harder than last year,鈥� he said.

"It was really mental, just forcing your body to keep going.鈥�

The mental endurance it takes to compete in the Quest is amplified when the journey is done solo, without the distraction or energy of teammates.

"The first few times it was really lonely, you get bored and your mind starts playing tricks on you,鈥� said Spoor.

This time around, Spoor said he was prepared for the isolation.

Aside from his three previous River Quest expeditions he also spent a lot of time training on his own.

"This time I was really comfortable in the boat, I spent a lot time training and I was always alone so I'm just used it, it feels like my office or something.鈥�

Chris overtook Thrower just outside of Stewart Island and said he continued to paddle his own race and didn't spend too much time looking over his shoulder.

"You've got to run your own race,鈥� he said.

"If you pay too much attention to other boats it throws you off. If he had passed me again, that would have been fine, you just have do what you have to do.鈥�

Spoor said he sees some improvement in racing each year he returns to the Quest.

This time he felt his organization was one of his strongest aspects.

"I thought I ran a really good race,鈥� he said. "I thought I did a really good job managing the race from a food point of view and pace point of view.鈥�

Spoor topped his wining time from last year by more than 2 and a half hours, a feat he credited to having a GPS in his boat and his pre-race preparation.

"Having the GPS made it so nice,鈥� he said.

"I felt I was better trained and a better paddler. Every year I come back I'm a better paddler and I have better equipment and a better strategy.鈥�

Spoor said he's unsure if he'll be back in the race next year but said if he does return, he wants to improve on his drifting.

Even in victory, Spoor was still critical of his performance, looking for the improvements he can make.

Overall though, he was content with his top place finish.

"I never felt like I was out of control, I never felt tired or like I was about to biff it,鈥� he said.

"I felt like my plan was really rock solid, I felt great the whole time.鈥�