fitness paddling: exercise, train, race by kayak & canoe

Hassel trains seven days a week, 365 days a year. You can find him on the Platte and Loup Rivers, even in January's bitter cold.

Sometimes the ice builds up around the boat until the 20-pound craft weighs nearly 100 pounds.

On those frigid training days, he packs fresh clothes in a sack in case he capsizes. Failure to plan can be fatal while training alone.

When the rivers dry up in summer, he will paddle any water available. He is a constant figure at Mormon Island and L.E. Ray Park near Grand Island.

... "His secret is that he trains in wet sand," said Gareth Stevens, editor of Canoe News, the official publication of the United States Canoe Association., taking a jab at the tough canoeing found in Nebraska's shallow rivers.

There are several canoe races in Nebraska, including the annual George Hassel Memorial Race on the Platte River organized by Calvin as tribute to his father. You can find a schedule of Nebraska races on Midwest Canoe Association pages.

Calvin Hassel often races mixed tandem with Lynn Capen, a resident of Boulder, Colorado. She and Hassel have never finished worse than third place in the C-2 mixed event and have combined for 10 national championships.

"For a big guy to master the shallow waters of Nebraska is a testament to his talent," Capen said. "He loves to paddle, and he loves Nebraska rivers."

The picture above comes from my paddling on wet sand on South Platte River near Fort Morgan in eastern Colorado. I imagine that paddling and training on the Platte River in Nebraska must look similar. I would expect more sandbars. After all, the Platte used to be called "a mile wide and a foot deep".