When one is covering a thousand mile trek in a canoe, from Yukon to Alaska, as it were, it seems almost inconceivable that the single-most valuable asset would not be paddling skills.

Sudbury nurse practitioner Lauren Andersen will contend otherwise – and she should know.

The 38 year-old graduate of both Marymount Academy and Laurentian University recently teamed with brother-in-law Sean Lougheed to complete the route in six days, 22 hours and 30 minutes, finishing third among the 18 duos that made it to the finish line – with four more dropping out along the way.

“I am very proud of just how prepared we were,” said Andersen, the tandem well equipped in a wide variety of areas simply because of the experiences that both have enjoyed over the years – and the knowledge they have garnered along the way.

“Sean has a really strong planning background; he has organized lengthy boat trips,” she added. “And I do think my medical background helped us a lot. It gives me a strong physiological understanding of the body and what is happening with electrolytes and stuff like that over the course of an endurance race.”

The Yukon 1000 is not for the faint of heart – nor is it an undertaking to be taken lightly. With some five thousand or more applications for 30 available slots, race organizers are nothing if not thorough in seeking those best equipped for all that nature will throw their way when technology is nowhere to be found.

“The race director is very careful about who he lets in,” said Andersen. “There is a very real possibility that you could harm yourself out there.”

This is a far cry from her early John Island Camp expeditions – though they most certainly helped. “It gave us a strong foundation to build on for this particular race.”

“I started going to YMCA overnight camps when I was six year old,” added Andersen. “I have a very strong tripping background – and you move, from day hikes to overnight, progress to lake and river paddles and then leadership trips.”

“This was a very long trip so you have to have those skills: adaptability, tolerance to weather – even just being able to get out of bed in the morning and put on wet clothes. I am not a stranger to doing that – and all of those things really helped.”

Prepare as you might, it is never enough.

Andersen and Lougheed were fully aware of elements that are far outside the norm, even by northern Ontario standards. “The weather was a big challenge,” said Andersen. “I knew it would be a factor but I did not foresee the extent to just how appressive the Artic sun would be, just how blistering hot it would be.”

“It just doesn’t stop – and it reflects off the water.”

“We were very conscious of replenishing fluids but on days like that, I had thought less about body temperature and was getting heat exhaustion.”

One cannot possibly downplay the physical demands of this undertaking.

“Flexibility is a big thing when you are sitting in a boat for 18 hours a day,” said Andersen. “There was a lot of gym preparation.”

Unfortunately, not as much as she would have liked.

With her father (Joel) battling health challenges last winter (sadly, he would pass in March), Lauren was in care-giver mode for countless hours, delaying her ability to truly throw herself into the training regimen she would have appreciated.

The drive to excel was strong, yet tempered, with Andersen and Lougheed clearly on exactly the same wave-length when it came time for those tough conversations regarding potential trade-offs.

“We wanted to perform well, but risk management was always above winning,” stated Andersen. “Our boat was a bit heavier because we wanted to minimize risk.”

And the return?

Beyond the incredible fulfillment of seeing an initiative of this magnitude right through to the end, Andersen raves of the one-time life experiences.

“One of my goals was not to let the scenery pass by without appreciating it,” she said. “Chances are that we are never going to do this again. The thing that struck the both of us is just the scale of everything. We took a few photos but it does it no justice whatsoever. Everything is so vast.”

“There are few places where you can be quite so isolated.”

A reminder of same came quickly upon completion of the race.

“When I got to wifi in Alaska, after we were done, my phone went crazy,” said Andersen. “I had something like 130 missed messages.”

Yep – exactly as she planned.