fitness paddling

2010 Missouri River 340 Race Starts Tomorrow

Marek — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:51:03 +0000

Kansas City from the Kaw Point. Early morning, a day before the race

The 5th Missouri River 340 Race from Kansas CIty to St Charles starts tomorrow. The race was postponed by month due to flooding on the Missouri River. The water level is still very high. Late August, shorter days, hopefully cooler than in July, but still a full moon at nights. It may be somewhat different than usual.

I am paddling Sea Wind canoe this year. It will be a fully self supported race for me including a shuttle. I will be testing a new option for a shuttle and I will have a chance to see the river three times from a different perspective. I will try to shoot some pictures at least at the start, but it’s quite hazy a day before the race.

I wonder how many paddlers will manage to attend the postponed race.

Kansas (Kaw) River just above the Kaw Point boat ramp

and, one late afternoon shot – a dragon boat parking at the Kaw Point

2010 Dotsero to Hanging Lake Race – Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon

Marek — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:39:10 +0000

10 miles
class I
divisions for canoes & sea kayaks

The Dotsero to Hanging Lake Race will be on Sunday August 22nd.
Registration will begin at 6:30 at the put-in, shuttle leaving 7:00, races start 8:00

Entry fee is $10 per person CASH!

The Dotsero launch is on the SE corner of the old hwy 6/ Green Bridge over the Colorado River at Dotsero. Take I-70 west to exit 133 and follow the frontage road.

Hanging Lake is a rest area inside Glenwood Canyon. It’s currently closed, but will re-open around August 1st.

Prizes for each division are all entry fees + $100, split 50-30-20 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place

There is also a prize drawing with over $500 worth of paddling goodies, with all race participants names drawn out of the hat for that drawing. Prizes often include good paddles, PFD’s, guidebooks, drybags, throwbags, and assorted odds and ends. Even if you don’t win a cash prize, you’ll probably win something in the drawing (lots of prizes, first name pulled chooses first and we keep pulling names until we run out of prizes or names).

For more information contact:
Jerry Nyre
303-344-2813

120 Pictures from the Missouri River 340 Race

Marek — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:18:49 +0000

I supposed to finish packing my boat today and to start driving tomorrow to Kansas City for the 5th Missouri River 340 Race. However, the race has been postponed for a month due flooding conditions on the river. So, instead of packing I went through pictures shot by me and Connie during four years of the race (2006-2009). I selected 120 pictures for the slide show below (it looks better in a full screen mode).

Most of these pictures came from the first race in 2006. Each race I am paddling faster which leaves less time and energy for photography. I used one of my Pentax Optio waterproof camera. In 2008 when I paddled Sea Wind canoe I also took my Canon D40 DSLR to photograph the race start.

24 Hour Paddling Guinness Record by Andy Corra on the Yukon River

Marek — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:17:24 +0000

A report and pictures by Jeremy Rodgers, Boulder, CO.

Only days after returning to Boulder from World Championships in Sort, Spain, I found myself sitting at Denver International airport yet again waiting for my flight to the Yukon Territory Canada busily checking flow gauges and gathering last minute information on the wilderness that waits.

Just when one thinks you have been dealt an average hand, all variables go in your favor and the impossible happens as the human spirit triumphs against all odds. Not 24 hours after I sent an email out to family and friends on my blog acknowledging the lack of adequate flows for a world record attempt on the 24 distance record, American wildwater paddler Andy Corra, from Durango, Colorado, overtook the current world record of 261 miles by paddling 273.5 miles (awaiting certification by Guinness World Records) in 24 hours.

The current official record is held by Aussie American adventure racing legend Ian Adamson. While flows were average at best compared to previous record attempts by others, Andy’s paddling and river reading skills, as well as tolerance of sitting in a kayak for 24 hours, were matched with eerily calm skies and the sheer hunger for what was one man’s first chance to attempt this life long goal.

Andy’s attempt was supported by myself in a second surf ski and 2 local guides in a flat skiff motor boat. His attempt started with a simple touch of the reset button on the 2 GPS tracking devices at 12 noon as he pushed away from the flat bottomed guide boat and pointed the bow of his Epic V12 surf ski downriver. Needless to say, he chose against a long warm-up. What ensued in the next 24 hours was simply poetry in motion. Andy kept his signature form throughout the entire 24 hours and his cadence only slowed in the final 2 hours as fatigue and the intolerance of sitting took its toll on his back and shoulders.

The river was swift and approximately 5-16 feet deep. The endless braids were challenging to find primary channels and we as a support crew were busy looking ahead with various means then relying on Andy’s on the fly water reading skills. With moderate flows this year, Andy simply overcame moderate flows with both his paddling skill combined with excellent weather minus several heavy gale force squalls. The difference in Andy’s attempt and previous attempts by other paddlers seemed to be Andy’s dissection of each channels flow to gain maximum current speed advantage obtained from his years of wildwater racing.

We began below Lake Labarge around noon on Saturday and descended Five Fingers and Rink Rapids earlier than expected. In the wee hours of the night around 2am, Andy negotiated the cross currents and exploding waves between the immersed rock towers of Five Fingers Rapids with the cautious focus you’d expect from a 6 time wildwater national champion paddling a 21 foot surf ski through short but worthy class 2-3 rapids. Andy had little to say the entire attempt but did muster the defining phrase, “that was anti climactic”, as he passed through the final rapid.

The rest of the night he remained on task only stopping long enough to urinate and exchange food and hydration systems. He did ultimately hit an expected low in the early hours of the next morning, hour18-21, with only a slight change in cadence but no change in average speed even with dropping current speed. By hour 21, following a quick layer change, he regained his color and signature cadence for the final leg of this enormous human feat.

Congratulations!

Texas Water Safari 2010 with a Camera instead of a Paddle

Marek — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:36:33 +0000

Yucca flowers in front of my Fort Collins house remind me that it is time for Texas Water Safari. This 260 mile nonstop paddling race from San Marcos to Seadrift start every year on the second Saturday of June.

Texas Water Safari was my first racing experience and still remains the most important one. We went to Texas to observe the 2001 Safari, then I finished three races solo: 2002, 2003, and 2005. I couldn’t attend the race postponed due to flooding in 2004. Connie was my Team Captain. It appears that she really didn’t like that job after all (what a surprise …), but she wrote some good tips for team captains and support crew.

My TWS reports and pictures are still available at Mountain Wayfarer (some links may be broken). I gathered most of these pictures (165) into a slide show below. The far left button in a toolbar opens a gallery page with four picture albums.

This year I am returning back to Texas Water Safari, not in a boat, unfortunately. I am flying to Texas with my camera, so more pictures will be available soon.

Update:
The Texas Water Safari is postponed until July 10th due to flooding conditions on the lower Guadalupe river.

Which Boat to Paddle in 2010 MR340 Race?

Marek — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:35:07 +0000

68 days to the 2010 Missouri River 340 Race and I am still not decided which boat to paddle. In the first four MR340 races I paddled four different solo boats:
2006 – Spencer X-treme canoe (mostly double blade)
2007 – WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak (double blade)
2008 – Kruger Sea Wind canoe (single blade)
2009 – Surfrigger outrigger canoe (single blade)

Well, I don’t have a new boat for this year race. It also seems that I need to add a new criterium to my boat selection ranking: which boat (or rather paddle) hurts less my shoulder, wrist, elbow, etc. This year the elbow provides a challenge.

Recently, I was mostly paddling the Thunderbolt kayak. It is because I am lazy and this boat is the easiest and quickest one to upload on my car roof. 116 miles on the North Platte River in Wyoming with Sea Wind this incoming weekend will provide some additional data to think (and feel) about. The worst scenario: replacing a paddle by a camera.

Wyoming Outback Challenge Gone …

Marek — Sat, 08 May 2010 20:11:54 +0000

For the last three years Jerry Nyre from Canoe Colorado organized and sponsored (including cash prizes!) this great marathon race on the North Platte River during Memorial Day weekends. 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). It was usually high and fast water and, typically, some headwind closer to the finish.

Thank you Jerry! I had a good racing and spent together with Connie and our dogs three wonderful weekends in Saratoga.

North Platte River below Saratoga

Unfortunately, the Wyoming Outback Challenge will not by organized any more. The organizers were obviously disappointed by a poor participation. Here is what Eric Nyre wrote at Canoe Colorado forum this year as an explanation:

Last year was the last year of the race.
Local racers weren’t interested.
Racers from other parts of the country wanted free loaner boats/ transportation.
We gave it 3 years, and the crowd kept getting smaller. So no mas, we’re paddling the White instead.

I don’t think that Eric is the best person to comment on that event since during these three years he never showed up at the race neither as an organizer nor as a racer.

I tried to promote the Wyoming race in this blog. You can see the list of related posts with race pictures, reports and results below. Other racers also offered their help in promoting the event.

Last year, I dared to criticize the organizers for a lack of promotion, but also provided some suggestions. I wrote it on the Canoe Colorado forum. What happened?. Eric responded first with some strange and unpleasant comments, then, he erased my posts and banned me from the forum, and, finally, he “nominated” me to an unwelcome person in the Canoe Colorado events.

Well, the river is flowing. Water looks great. I hope to do some paddling on the North Platte River again. If anybody is interested it would be not so difficult to run any informal race on the North Platte similar to what I am trying do on the South Platte. I realize it is much more challenging to setup a more formal race, especially, if you like to offer cash prizes. It was a reason the Canoe Colorado avoided any river access points under BLM jurisdiction

Start of the 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge below Hot Spring at Saratoga

I would like to see a longer race course. So this year, together with Rob Bean, we are planning to cover 100+ miles of the North Platte from the Bennett Peak campground (above Treasure Island) to Seminoe Reservoir. It will be just a fast training run: two days of paddling, WaterTribe expedition style, probably May 22/23.

Other resources:
The Floater’s Guide to Wyoming Rivers: Paddle and Portage
Wyoming Atlas & Gazettee
map of public access areas by Wyoming Game and Fish Department
North Platte River flow: Northgate, CO | Ft Steele/Dugway
Wyoming Introduces Fee for Paddling and Boating

Paddling under cliffs of Eagle Nest

Canoe and Kayak Racing Magazine – March/April 2010

Marek — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:53:53 +0000

Morgan House, a sprint kayaker, the first US Indoor Kayak Championships, the role of interval training, rest and recovery in paddler’s training cycle by couch Shaun Caven, developments in surfski racing, strength training for racers by Abel Hastings, a preview of the Show-Me-State Canoe and Kayak Marathon, a review of high tech training paddle, Excalibur …

All this and more in the March-April 2010 issue of Canoe and Kayak Racing Magazine.

Missouri Breaks 150 Race Cancelled

Marek — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:43:36 +0000

Missouri Breaks 150 Race planned for June 13-13, 2010 (150 miles from Fort Benton to Kipp Recreation Area, Wild & Scenic Upper Missouri River, in two stages) has been cancelled. Race organizers didn’t get a permit from BLM. See some related discussion at RiverMiles.com forum.

Bummer! I just started preparation for three long races on the Missouri River this year. I was even hoping to connect the Missouri Break 150 race with a short visit to Glacier National Park. My plan “B” for the 2nd weekend of June is to use some frequent flier miles and to fly south to photograph Texas Water Safari this year.

2009 Popular Posts in Fitness Paddling Blog

Marek — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:12:57 +0000

A dozen of the most popular posts in this blog during last year.

Most popular means with the highest number of readers. These include also articles from the old blog before I migrated to wordpress platform. Some posts need update. The article Is Ultra-Marathon Kayak and Canoe Racing Growing? was written in the middle of 2006 before the first Missouri River 340 race.

1. 14 Tips on Kayak Forward Stroke Dynamics by Mark Zollitsch

2. Tips on Training, Boats and Paddles for Endurance Paddling Races

3. 2009 Rotten Egg Race – Results, Pictures, Handicap System

4. 3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race

5. 12 Pictures from 2008 Missouri River 340 Race

6. Carter Johnson on Training for Ultra Marathon Kayak Races

7. 13 Tips on Training for Endurance Paddling Races from West Hansen

8. A Simple Suction Cup Mount for Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS

9. How to Choose a Boat for an Ultra Marathon Race? The Case of Missouri River 340

10. Photo Impressions on Surfrigger, My Outrigger Canoe

11. Is Ultra-Marathon Kayak and Canoe Racing Growing?

12. Ice Canoe Racing across St Lawrence River in Quebec City