Beautiful red sunset at Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area in Fort Collins, CO as seen from the cockpit of WSBS Thundebolt-X kayak. You can find more of bow shots from this workout in Paddling with a Camera blog.
The third Missouri River 340 Race (July 15-18, 2008) gathered 150 boats from recreational kayaks and canoes to surfskis and racing boats to 4- and 6-person safari canoes. High water, good weather and beautiful full moon nights. And, each paddler has a great story.
This is my second post on the 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge, 44 mile paddling race on the North Platte River from Saratoga to Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp) and, probably, not the last one. You can check the race results from 2007 and 2008 in my previous post.
The second Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River organized by Canoe Colorado took place on May 25 during Memorial Day weekend. The race starts at Hot Springs in Saratoga and runs 44 miles down the river across a quite remote area to Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp).
The river was big this year with the flow between 7000 and 8000 cfs at Dugway (just below the race finish). The weather was surprisingly good considering gusty winds, rain and snow showers a day before the race and not very encouraging forecast for the entire weekend.
This is a second post from the How to Train for Ultra Marathon Paddle Racing series. After training tips from Carter Johnson my next guest is West Hansen, a competitive racer from Austin, Texas. See his racing bio below for his paddling accomplishments and racing plans for 2007.
This post is a first one from a mini series on training for long distance paddle races. I asked several racers with a potentially different perspective to share their experience.
Let’s start from training tips prepared by Carter Johnson. Carter is a surfski and kayak racer who successfully paddled in several ultra marathon events including Colorado River 100, Everglades Challenge and Yukon River Quest. He is a holder of the Guinness 24 Hour Flat Water Paddling Record.