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Midway through the 2016 Yukon River Quest, a grueling 444-mile endurance race for kyakers and canoeists that begins in Whitehorse and ends in Dawson City, local competitor Josh Friedman knew something was amiss.

Competing in the mixed tandem kayak category with his partner Julie Kirk, owner of Mountain Mike’s Health Food Store, this was the third Yukon River quest the pair have entered, having completed the race in 2014 and 2015. In both those instances, Friedman was recovering from surgery; this year he was excited to be entering the event seemingly injury-free. That confidence, however, wouldn’t last long.

“Midway through the race I ended up pulling a muscle in my mid-back on my left side,” Friedman said. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere, and I pull this muscle. Every time I paddled, it felt like a knife in my back, just excruciating pain. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it to Dawson City. There is an evacuation procedure in place, but it can take a couple of days, so we decided to push through. Julie just decided ‘Hey, we’re just going to keep paddling, because we can probably get to Dawson before they come out to get you.’”

Not that Friedman is a stranger to pain and tests of endurance. A retired Navy SEAL with 20 years served in that capacity, he retired from the Navy in 2003 as a Special Operations Medic. He would soon have to rely on that specialized training to gut it through to the finish line.

“To be able to overcome the pain, keep going on, blocking out the pain, that was all my previous training,” he said. “Most people in the position I was in probably would have quit right there. But with Julie urging me on and me going through my whole bag of tricks to overcome the pain, we were able to keep trucking on. My background as a SEAL definitely helped.”

The Yukon River Quest attracts paddlers from all over the world. This year’s event celebrated its 18th year and its largest field of competitors ever, with 94 teams featuring 236 paddlers competing in a variety of categories. Fourteen countries were represented: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (8 provinces/territories), Germany, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States (15 states), according to the River Quest website.

The team of Friedman and Kirk, calling themselves “Spirit of America,” finished the race in 57 hours and 16 minutes, placing 1st in the mixed tandem kayak division and 5th overall in all tandem categories. Out of the 94 teams, “Spirit of America” finshed 38th overall. Despite Friedman’s injury, the team improved on its best time by nearly 30 minutes.

“The real kicker, aside from my back, was the low water level,” Friedman said.

“We went to areas where their was no current, it was like paddling in mud. So it was hard going, and even harder on my back. But we’ve done this race twice before, so we were prepared for anything.”

Friedman also attributed his team’s success to a solid support team.

The Yukon River Quest has two mandatory breaks, one of seven hours and one of three. During that time, the support team, made up of Kirk’s son and daughter, would clean out the kayak and perform other duties, giving the kayakers a chance for a little rest.

“They were great, they reloaded our boat with supplies, cleaned it out, gave us fresh water and fresh food and cleaned our wet gear,” Friedman said.

“They got us ready to go on our next leg, and they did an awesome job this year.”

Encouraged by their struggle through adversity to post their best time so far, Friedman and Kirk are planning to give it another go in 2017.

“Even though you get so beat up the river keeps calling us back for the challenge,” Friedman said.

“I still don’t feel like Julie and I have completely reached our potential in this race. We keep getting better each year and overcoming adversity. I’ll work on my back this month, but I’m ready to go back right now.”