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New Zealand鈥檚 The Revenant, a tandem kayak team, will be chasing Yukon Quest glory for the first time.

Ben Lott, 32, and Scott Worthington, 64, both hail from the Central Otago region of New Zealand.

They finished eighth in the 2022 Yukon 1000. It鈥檚 a race from Whitehorse to Dalton Highway Bridge, Alaska.

鈥淲e loved every day of it,鈥� said Lott. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about being out on the river for six days and however long. We could have possibly just kept going for another few weeks and been really quite happy.

鈥淚t was a long time coming for us, having been locked down here for so long. It was our first trip out of the country, away, and the northern hemisphere hadn鈥檛 floated off.鈥�

鈥淚t probably paid off for us in the long run. I personally had a lot longer to be a lot stronger.

鈥淏ut as well we know each other so well when we鈥檝e had the time to do a heap more missions together that we fall into routines now that we don鈥檛 even talk about.鈥�

Worthington added, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 call ourselves paddlers. We do adventure racing, of which paddling is a part, obviously.

鈥淲e really enjoyed the race, but we didn鈥檛 really race it. And that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e coming back because we had a few things going on down here that didn鈥檛 allow us to race it.鈥�

鈥淲e saw people get out at the end of the race and that was the hardest thing they鈥檇 ever done, and I鈥檓 sure it was for them. It wasn鈥檛 for us. We just really thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And hence, we want to come back for the 2000, which we hear might happen next year.鈥�

鈥淚 want to get back on the river,鈥� interjected Lott.

鈥淚t was really also to come back and race this thing,鈥� explained Worthington. 鈥淎nd not just plod along. So that鈥檚 really the reason to come back. We love the area. Love the river, love adventure. Just want to come back and give this one a real good nudge.鈥�

Worthington doesn鈥檛 paddle as much as Lott, who is the stronger paddler.

鈥淚鈥檓 probably the paddler of the two of us,鈥� said Lott. 鈥淚 paddle multiple times a week.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 got the letter A in front of it, that鈥檚 probably got us involved with it. Probably our type of adventure is stashed away in the bush truly miles from anywhere and anything where truly there is no humans around. We like crawling through areas that no one鈥檚 ever been before. That鈥檚 kind of a bit of us. You know, take a pack, a pack raft on the back, and away you go, get dropped in somewhere in a helicopter and picked up the other end in a plane.鈥�

Worthington said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e lucky that we have an area called Fiordland which is very much like your area, in the sense that this area, the bulk of it, no human鈥檚 ever put a footprint, it鈥檚 too rugged. And to give you an idea of how rugged, we鈥檝e been on some missions where we moved at 40 metres an hour. And we鈥檙e not sitting on our backside during that hour. We鈥檙e really pushing to try and make forward progress.鈥�

鈥淪cott鈥檚 built to move through the bush. He can fit through every hole that possibly exists,鈥� quipped Lott.

Fiordland is a national park about one and a half times the size of Yellowstone.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just so rugged, that I don鈥檛 think humans could actually build anything in there if they tried. But it鈥檚 a perfect place for us,鈥� related Worthington.

He said a lot of people have to spend a lot of time practising and sorting their systems.

鈥淎s Ben said, that鈥檚 what we do. So that was the easy part.鈥�

Regarding the Yukon, Lott said, 鈥淲e love the people. We鈥檙e really excited to come back. Burnt Toast for breakfast in the mornings. That鈥檚 probably one of the things we鈥檝e spoken about the most.鈥�

When asked if their experience in the Yukon 1000 will help them with their Yukon Quest, Lott replied, 鈥�100 per cent we鈥檝e gained experience from the 1000. We know what we know and we know what we do well, and it showed us our holes of what we need to work on. So this time around, we鈥檙e basically coming in just to race ourselves. But we know now we can push through those bigger, longer days with the change of format. This time, the two bigger days, that actually suits us better. We鈥檙e used to pushing through the night. So we鈥檙e really excited about that too, to go back to our kind of format of racing.鈥�

Comparing the Quest to the 1000, Lott said, 鈥淢y spin on this: it鈥檚 a whole different race.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a pure race,鈥� chimed in Worthington.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a sprint race,鈥� said Lott. 鈥淚t still has its own challenges. It still has its own beefy kind of intimidation that could go with it. But you鈥檝e really got to be pushing and you鈥檝e actually got to be not sprinting but you鈥檝e got to be strategic about how you are paddling if you want to try and nudge the top end.鈥�

They don鈥檛 plan on racing in the 1000 this year, which is July 14-15. Worthington said he鈥檚 heading straight to Greenland after the Quest, which they figure to finish on July 7 or 8.

When asked if they would consider doing the YRQ and the Yukon 1000 back to back, Lott replied, 鈥淚 definitely would.鈥� Worthington agreed.

鈥淭he draw of the possibility of the 2000 going ahead in 2024 is probably the greatest draw card to come back.

Because that will really be awesome, to go the whole length of the river.

鈥淚f it didn鈥檛 go ahead next year, Ben and I are going to come back and do the 2000 anyway. We鈥檒l just do it by ourselves.鈥�

The fastest time to complete the 2000 鈥� from Whitehorse to the Bering Sea 鈥� is about 25 or 26 days.

鈥淏en and I are like 鈥楴ah, we can beat that,鈥欌�� said Worthington. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e gonna say that, you鈥檝e got to actually go and do it. But time will tell.鈥�

As for their goals for the YRQ, Lott said 鈥淕o as fast as we can.鈥�

When asked if they have a shot at winning the race, Lott responded, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say that. That鈥檚 not how we roll. We鈥檙e racing ourselves.鈥�

Worthington added, 鈥淚鈥檇 be disappointed if we weren鈥檛 at the pointy end of the kayaks.鈥�

Lott said, 鈥淲e will do the best we can and where we finish is where we finish, but we鈥檝e done the prep. We know what we need to do. We鈥檒l do what we鈥檝e got to do, and it鈥檒l be what it鈥檒l be.鈥�

Lott said the best way to accomplish their goals would be to 鈥渟tick to the plan.鈥�

Worthington added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e used to pushing through, up to 48 hours at a time, before you鈥檒l have a sleep. As Ben said, this sort of race to Carmacks, have 10 hours to stand down, and then race again, is just perfect. That鈥檚 a relatively easy timeframe for us. Our plan really revolves around just thinking about that first 24 hours to Carmacks.鈥�

鈥淲e split it into two races. It鈥檚 a race to Carmacks, then a race to Dawson,鈥� related Lott.

鈥淭hen absolutely luxury to have a 10 hours stop,鈥� said Worthington. 鈥淎nd we鈥檒l enjoy that. And then the second race starts, that second 24 hour burst. So it鈥檚 really just maximizing that 24 hours. And for me personally, the strategy for that first day, and I鈥檓 sure everyone鈥檚 got the same, but you just got to get across that lake as quickly as you can, and get back into that flow again.

鈥淕etting across the lake is critical, that 55 (km) is critical, whatever the conditions are, we don鈥檛 really care. They鈥檙e the same, pretty much, for everybody.

鈥淵our navigation and the lines that you take come into play as much as anything else. And we鈥檝e done a lot of scrutiny on the river.鈥�

Lott said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e got Heidi (Virtanen) from the Skirtin鈥� Albertans, who鈥檚 done the Quest many, many times, is coming up from Calgary to be our support crew.

鈥淪he did the 1000 last year as well in a canoe. She knows the race inside and out. So we鈥檝e basically got a professional coming to crew us, which is really cool.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be surrounded by people that know the race quite well and try to get the info out of them.鈥�

Lott added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e just really looking forward to honestly getting back up there. It鈥檚 really neat.

鈥淛ust listen for the loud ones. You鈥檒l probably hear us coming a mile away.鈥�