Richmond Canoe Club members took first and second places in the inaugural Yukon 1,000 – the longest kayaking race in the world.

After paddling down the 1,000-mile course for six days, two hours, 11 minutes and seven seconds, Richmond brothers Richard and Henry Hendron, and Russ Dawkins and Rob Collier, decided to cross the finish line together.

Richard Hendron, the 27-year-old six-time veteran of Britain’s 125-mile Devizes Westminster International Canoe Marathon, said: “It was hard, one of the hardest things I’ve done.”

With three UK entrants out of the field of 19 crews, the English crews claimed a one-two-three in the final results, in a race that involves kayaking for 18 hours a day, while eating, drinking and staying healthy on the move.

Travelling from Whitehorse in the Yukon territory of northwest Canada to Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway, the race travels through what organisers call ‘empty territory’ and requires competitors to be fully self-supporting. Race control is virtual, recording progress and checking safety using satellite technology.

Hendron added: “It wasn’t as tedious as I expected. It was complete wilderness, and quite exciting in the exploratory sections, not knowing what was round the next bend.”