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

The following year, I tried to run the marathon again and, even, found some partners. However, the river didn't cooperate. I had to postpone and eventually cancel the race due to low water in the upper part of the course.

At the start of 2005 South Platte River Marathon - St Vrain River (280 cfs) at Wildcat

This year I returned back to the marathon idea, but tried to organize the race earlier in the spring. In February and March we had some training runs and 9 mile upstream "Rotten Egg" race. The weather forecast for the marathon day was very inviting: rain or snow and strong winds, but my concern was rather the water level which was going down.

Nevertheless, Rob Bean joined me at Wildcat on March 30, 2008 for the race. It was chilly but calm and stopped snowing in the morning. We could enjoy a snow dust over a typical South Platte scenery. Rob lunched at 8:00 in his Spencer X-treme canoe. I started to chase him in Thunderbolt kayak 26 minutes later.

Paddling St Vrain River at 90 cfs flow was not so bad. I managed to go around all strainers but got stacked in a sandbar at the confluence with the South Platte River. It happen to me several more times later on the river. My Thunderbolt got some new scars and scratches. Water was really low at the South Platte along the Wildcat Mound. Navigating between all logs and snags at that water level was quite interesting. Paddling conditions improved significantly below Evans (~450 cfs at Kersey).

I caught and passed Rob after 2 hours of paddling below the Godfrey Ditch Dam. After the long portage around the Lower Latham Ditch dam I started to slow down. I reached Evans Riverside Park in 3 hours. At that time blue sky and sun started to show up, but soon a stiff head wind came. Last miles between Kersey and Kuner were pretty slow for me.

I finished the race in 5:46 covering 32.3 miles. It was more than 1 mile longer in comparison to the high water run in 2005. The shallow water made the marathon course pretty tough this year.

Here is Rob's report and comments:

This was my first South Platte River Marathon and my longest run of the 2008 season so far. I was really excited to get out on Sunday to see how my new Spencer Extreme Canoe would do in a downriver mode. My spirits were slightly dampened after seeing that new snow had fallen overnight; but snow and South Platte seem to go together for paddles in 2008 so far.

Marek and I had a staggered start on the St. Vrain which stretches for about a mile before joining the South Platte. The water was pretty shallow in the channel and after an initial sprint from the start, just around the first bend, I had to get out of the boat for a strainer. I had to exit two more times to go around fallen trees and one sand bar before making the confluence, it was not a speedy start to the day. Once onto the South Platte, I was glad to see more water but it was obvious that someone upstream needed the water more than we did. I think the river was running in the four or five hundred CFS range.

I made pretty good time through the first two dams and caught a glimpse of Marek gaining on me as I was getting in my boat below the Godfrey Ditch Dam. I knew better than to try to sprint away from him so I kept my pace and he caught me somewhere between Godfrey and the Lower Latham Ditch Dam. I paddled with Marek for a while and then chased his yellow jacket until I last saw him exiting the old South Platte channel below Latham.

From there I was back on my own and the sun came out for a while as I began the second half of the marathon. The entire way I saw a lot of wildlife including deer, eagles, hawks, a raccoon and my daughters favorite bird the merganser. I even managed to nab a mallard duck decoy for my son to drag behind our family canoe, he loved it. At Kersey I passed a group scouting the river for an upcoming school paddle trip and then the winds got fierce. The last couple of miles was not a lot of fun but like with all endurance events felt really good and worthwhile when I stopped.

I finished the ~32 mile course in 6:48:59 and hope wind, water and conditioning help to make a better time in 2009. Either way it was great training for my 250 mile Big Moo Canoe for Heifer International coming up in June - Check out the project and support a fellow paddler in an important challenge: www.MooCanoe.com.

Related posts:

• 31 Miles and 5 Portages - South Platte River Marathon
• South Platte River Marathon 2005
• South Platte River - GPS/photo map and guide
• Winter Paddling, Training and Racing on the South Platte River in Northern Colorado
• 2nd South Platte Upstream "Rotten Egg" Race - Results