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They鈥檝e faced crocodiles, territorial hippos, cheeky monkeys, laughing hyenas and even a curious elephant, but the thing that Kenyan paddlers Marcus Savage and Peter Tyrrell are most scared of?

Bears.

More specifically, bears making off with their food.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the only thing we鈥檙e scared about this whole trip. It鈥檚 not the injury,鈥� says Savage. 鈥淲e鈥檙e scared of bears eating our food and we鈥檝e talked about it so much now that hopefully it doesn鈥檛 happen.鈥�

Over warm drinks the morning before the race, Tyrrell knocks on the wood table.

The team has carefully calculated the equation of porridge, boiled eggs, oranges, energy bars, salami, cheese, dehydrated dinners with rice and tea that that will keep them fuelled on the 1,600-kilometre journey down the Yukon River as they tackle the Yukon 1000.

Savage estimates they鈥檒l need about 4,000 calories a day, but neither of the men have eaten that much before.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if our bodies can physically take that much, so I think we鈥檝e got to accept the fact that we鈥檙e going to lose weight and we can recoup when we get off.鈥�

The race, which began in 2009 as a longer reaction to the Yukon River Quest has only run four times before.

Savage and Tyrell estimate that it鈥檒l take them about 10 days to complete the feat.

The cause they鈥檙e paddling for is enough to keep them going.

Running for Rangers was started about five years ago and supports the rangers in Africa who patrol the wilderness to stop poaching.

鈥淚n the last 10 years the price of ivory and the rhino horn has skyrocketed because of the demand from the Far East,鈥� says Tyrrell, 24, who also works in conservation research. 鈥淚t really is putting a lot of pressure on people to protect wildlife.鈥�

Tyrrell, who grew up in Kenya says that all of his free time growing up was centred around wildlife and spending time outdoors.

鈥淵ou could camp along the river or go for a drive and see these magnificent creatures,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to see that going.鈥�

Savage says that wildlife doesn鈥檛 really get a shot to stick up to the humans destroying their homes and killing them.

鈥淚 love wildlife,鈥� the 32-year-old says. 鈥� I like to be in small groups and to be out in the bush, so that鈥檚 where I like to be. That鈥檚 what I want to see preserved.鈥�

People they knew from Kenya had run a marathon in the desert and raised money for the charity.

Savage says he had always wanted to do an adventure race, but had never seen himself actually doing it.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 for me, it was for other people,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o when I鈥坰aw that people I knew and the same age as me actually went ahead and did something ridiculous like running through a desert for six or seven days, I thought 鈥榳ell why can鈥檛 I do that? Of course I can.鈥欌��

Both Tyrrell and Savage are quick to quip that they would never run that far.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 run,鈥� Savage deadpans.

But kayaking, no problem.

Friends of theirs had also won theYukon 1000 race in 2014.

鈥淣o pressure,鈥� says Tyrrell.

So far they鈥檝e raised about $3,000 for their cause, which they鈥檝e branded Kayaking for Conservation.

Although the money all goes to Running for Rangers, Tyrrell says they didn鈥檛 want to step on anyone鈥檚 toes.

The charity might soon rebrand anyways. This year a number of athletes are undertaking challenges for it. Ultra marathons in the Amazon and Iceland, riding horses across Mongolia and kayaking from Whitehorse to Alaska.

Savage and Tyrrell met on the river in Kenya. Both are talented whitewater kayakers, though neither of them has attempted a race this long 鈥� or flat 鈥� before.

Tyrrell has been training on a sliver of water, about a 100-metre loop, and has done a lot of cross-training. Savage has been cross-training as well, although he has been in a tandem kayak a handful of times.

There鈥檚 one tandem kayak in Kenya, the pair says. But its owner won鈥檛 lend it out to them, if the boat is going out, the owner says, he must be one of the paddlers on the mission.

The first time Savage and Tyrrell were in a tandem kayak together was at Chadburn Lake on鈥圫aturday with some of the other racers. They made sure they could roll the boat and then paddled around making sure the outfitting was good and the boat was in working order.

Savage is in the front, while Tyrrell steers in the back.

鈥淚 just told him, 鈥榙o you mind if I鈥檓 in the front, I don鈥檛 want to look at the back of your head the whole time?鈥� I thought I鈥檇 give him that pleasure,鈥� says Savage.

鈥淗is balding head. I鈥檒l have to wear my sunglasses to keep the reflection,鈥� says Tyrell.

For the duo who is in the Yukon for the first time, they also enjoyed the scenery.

鈥淵ou see it in all the magazines and stuff; the pristine lakes with the pine trees right up to the shore and then the lake in the background,鈥� says Savage. 鈥淲e鈥檝e only ever seen them in magazines and we鈥檙e like yeah, 鈥榯hat can鈥檛 be real.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 stunning, absolutely stunning.鈥�

Savage and Tyrrell are torn between wanting to post a competitive time and enjoying the scenery.鈥圱hey鈥檙e not sure when they might make it back again.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been told we鈥檙e not going to break any records,鈥� says Tyrrell. 鈥淲e think it鈥檚 reflective of the water level rather than reflective of our ability.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e come to conclusion that we鈥檙e not trying to necessarily win the race,鈥� says Savage. 鈥淲e want to go out there and post a really good time.鈥�