12 years ago, after paddling folding kayaks for more than 20 years, I got my first hard shell boat. I built a stitch-and-glue 19.5 Patuxent from CLC, perhaps the fastest kayak available for home building at that time. Racing? No, I just wanted to travel fast by water to some remote photography destinations.
A couple years later I was surfing the internet looking for winter paddling opportunities on Padre Island. I have never gone paddling there. Instead, I discovered the Texas Water Safari. Hours of watching video tapes produced by Pat Spencer, three visits to Texas including the 2001 race and two boats later I ran my first paddling race: 2002 TWS. I was hooked.
Since then, I have completed the Texas Water Safari three times, entered three WaterTribe events and finished one Everglades Challenge, completed three Missouri River 340 Races, and several shorter events from 10 to 100 miles.
How can I compare these three ultra-marathon paddling races? Which one is the toughest, the most challenging?
The distance to be covered by the racers seem to be quite similar. All three races run non-stop with mandatory checkpoints. You need to be prepared to paddle day and night, and paddling conditions can change drastically with the weather. TWS and MR340 are river races while EC is a coastal race with longer timeframe.
Everybody has a different story and experience. I am not a competitive athlete. My goal is just to finish the race, competing mostly against myself. My additional challenge is to shoot pictures and video when racing. The perspective of Carter Johnson, who paddled all three races in a surfski setting a solo record every time, would be quite different.
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The second Saturday of June. 2009 Texas Water Safari started today with 100 boats lined up at Aquarena Springs. 260 miles to go down the San Marcos and Guadelupe Rivers to Seadrift in San Antonio Bay.
The 3rd Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River organized by Jerry Nyre from Canoe Colorado took place on May 24 during Memorial Day weekend. The race started at Hot Springs in Saratoga and run 44 miles down the river across a quite remote area to Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp).
Dan Grubbs just released the 2nd issue of the online Canoe & Kayak Racing magazine devoted to Texas Water Safari.
The South Platte River Marathon scheduled for April 25, 2009 covers 31 miles along some popular and less known, but scenic river segments from St Vrain River to Kuner.
7 mile race open to all paddled and rowed boats. August 2nd, 2009 Frisco Marina, Frisco, CO. Highest and most scenic regatta in North America. For registration and information: Frisco Rowing Center at Lake Dillon. Great prizes and medals.
Dillon Reservoir at Mountain Wayfarer
November Paddling at 9,000 feet – Dillon Lake in Summit County, Colorado
9 Pictures from Paddling Lake Dillon, Colorado – Mountains, Sails and Dead Forest
Paddling in the Rain – Dillon Lake in Colorado Rocky Mountains
Wyoming Outback Challenge, 44 mile race on the North Platte River from Saratoga to Fort Steele is scheduled for May 24, 2009. For details contact the race organizers at CanoeColorado.com.
Related posts:
44 Miles of the North Platte River in 2 Minutes
44 Miles on Big Water – 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge Results
7 Landmarks and Highlights of the 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge
2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River- Results and Pictures
3 Days on the North Platte River in Wyoming: from Treasure Island to Fort Steele
Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River – Strong Current and Head Wind
North Platte River in Wyoming – Eagle Nest Rapid
Every year, in the middle of March, paddling clubs in northern Colorado organize a joint trip on the South Platte River from Evans to Kersey or further to Kuner as an opening of paddling season. During recent years I use to launch my boat around sunrise at Kersey and paddle upstream to Evans to meet downriver paddlers. In last two years I was joined by other paddlers and an informal race was created. Eric Nyre name it “Rotten Egg” race (a trophy for the last finisher?).
I needed about 4:30 hours to cover 9 miles upstream in a fast cruising mode in Sisson Nucleus 100 kayak or Spencer X-treme canoe. I paddled Thunderbolt-X kayak in the first two years of the race reaching Evans in 3:37 (2007) and 3:25 (2008 at ~850cfs). This year we expect much lower water: 400cfs at Kersey or even less. See river pictures from the March 15 paddling.
The race starts at 7am, March 22, 2009 at Kersey (highway 37 bridge – map). This is exactly sunrise time this year. Slower paddlers may start earlier.