Duo raise £50,000 in 'world's longest paddle race'

Two men from London have raised more than £50,000 for charity after completing what organisers say is the world’s longest paddle race.

Hector Bevan and Charlie Goodwin finished the Yukon 1000, which starts in Canada and ends in Alaska, on 19 July.

They raised the money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, after Hector's late father Hugh was treated at The Royal Marsden for prostate cancer.

"We want to help other men like Dad to have extra time and better outcomes," Mr Bevan said.

The pair finished the 1,000-mile (1,600km) race in seven days, six hours and 25 minutes, and were the third canoe-based team to finish. The race cut off is nine days and 18 hours.

The Yukon 1000 also allows kayak and stand up paddleboard entrants.

“Dad thought I was mad, as the race involves paddling for up to 18 hours a day in some of the most isolated landscapes in the world," Mr Bevan said.

"But if we were going to do it, he said we should raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, as The Royal Marsden had given him years of extra life after his cancer diagnosis.

"The extra time Dad had meant he was able to be at my wedding, which will always be a special memory.”

Mr Bevan, a former Royal Marine, said he was inspired by his father's adventurous spirit.

“He was on treatment for eight years and made the most of the time – he wanted to grab the bull by its horns and just live life fully," he added.

"He climbed Himalayan peaks, sailed the Southern Ocean and cycled up mountains around the world. Bizarrely, having cancer gave him an extra zest for life.”

The Yukon 1000 starts in Whitehorse, the capital of northwest Canada’s Yukon territory, and ends at the Dalton Highway Bridge in Alaska.

A maximum of 30 teams are allowed to take part each year.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]