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

Jeremy Rodgers, Front Range paddler and Clifbar/KEEN athlete from Boulder, Colorado, earns berth for US Canoe and Kayak Team at national wildwater team trials held on Cheat River, West Virginia April 4-5, 2008. Jeremy will be heading to Europe with his teammates in June for World Championships to be held in Ivrea, Italy. Last years race footage (in a nice slow motion) can be seen on youtube.

winter paddling on the South Platte River near Greeley

I raced with Jeremy (i.e., I followed his wake) in two events last year: Wyoming Outback Challenge and Colorado River Race in Glenwood Canyon.

In February and March of this year, we trained together on the icy South Platte River near Greeley paddling upstream and downstream. Jeremy even felt the need to run a few diversion dams with mixed results. That drop at the Union Ditch dam is pretty steep at low water!

Unfortunately, Jeremy didn't come to our races on the South Platte in March: 9 mile upstream Rotten Egg Race and 32 mile South Platte River Marathon. He was already focusing on shorter wildwater runs.

Good luck to Jeremy in Europe this summer.

At the finish of 2007 Colorado River Race in Glenwood Canyon

Related posts:

• 2007 Canoe Colorado Race in Glenwood Canyon - More Rapids with Opened Shoshone Dam
• Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River - Strong Current and Head Wind
• JKK Supernova, a Multisport Racing Sea Kayak from New Zealand - Review by Jeremy Rodgers
• Weekly Upstream and Downstream Paddling Workout on the South Platte River

Rob Bean, my fellow paddler from Fort Collins, is running the Big Moo Canoe Challenge:

Donate to The Big Moo Canoe, a 250 mile, "ultra-marathon" canoe challenge in support of Heifer International. This challenge will take place June 13 – 15, 2008 on the North Platte River in Wyoming. Through this experience I hope to bring awareness to the life changing work Heifer International does worldwide. Please take a few minutes to learn more about the project, donate and then join me on the river (even if just virtually). Your gift to Heifer International is a tangible way to fight world hunger and poverty.

On the pictures above Rob is training and racing his Spencer X-treme canoe on the South Platte River during this year winter and spring.

Related posts:

• Paddle the Wild West: 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River
• 32 Shallow Miles of the 2008 South Platte River Marathon
• 2nd South Platte Upstream "Rotten Egg" Race - Results

... from web pages of Canoe Colorado, the race organizer (you can expect updates and news there):

The Wyoming Outback Challenge is a 48 mile race down the North Platte River in Wyoming. It takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend (May 25, 2008). The race course starts at the Saratoga Hot Springs and continues to the bridge at I-80.

The river course is fairly wide class I+ with some sections of large standing waves. There are two dams, the first is easily run, the second may require a portage.

The Challenge has 4 unlimited classes:

• Solo Single Blade
• Solo Double Blade
• Tandem Solo Blade
• Tandem Double Blade

Entry fees are $25 per person, paid in cash. All fees plus $500 will be added to each class for prizes, split 50-30-20 to first, second and third.

Race participants must reach the Pick Bridge checkpoint within 1:20 of the start of the race. Anyone slower than that time will be encouraged to pull out there. After Pick Bridge the sweep boats will start at their normal pace, and anyone passed by the sweep boats will be disqualified.

Registration will take place Saturday night, race will start 7am Sunday morning at Saratoga's boat ramp.

Related posts:

• Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River - Strong Current and Head Wind
• 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
• Memorial Day Race - Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River
• 2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River
• more paddling on North Platte River at Mountain Wayfarer
• North Platte River above Seminoe Reservoir, Wyoming
• North Platte River from Treasure Island to Pick Bridge - movie
• The Floater's Guide to Wyoming Rivers: Paddle and Portage
• Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer
• map of public access areas by Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• North Platte River guides by Canoe Colorado:
  Treasure Island-Saratoga and Saratoga-Pick Bridge
• river flow: Northgate, CO | Ft Steele/Dugway