2023 - Where did your paddling take you?
We got around a fair bit this year. We asked some of the team to give us a few sentences about their paddling highlights. Turns out it proved difficult to box all those good times into neat little paragraphs. So grab a brew and let #TEAMSUP tell you a tale or two of what they've been up to.
Rosie Heath -
The Yukon, Canada (organised by us and hosted by Stand Up Paddle Yukon)
“The adventure started in a water plane soaring over the unspoilt wilderness and landing into complete isolation on the banks of the yukon river. We woke up to misty mornings and crackling campfires not forgetting the indulgent breakfasts cooked on the campfire by Stu our fantastic guide. We spent the days braving the elements, powering through small rapids contrasted with days of floating down river sunning ourselves in the rejuvenating rays of the yukon sun. Every turn was a wild surprise and what an adventure it was. A paddling experience to remember with a small group of like minded free spirits that made every day a fun filled wild yukon adventure.”
Guinness World Record Loch Ness, Scotland
“In April, I attempted to beat a Guinness World Record, paddling the 36.25km length of Loch Ness in the shortest possible time. The previous record was 6.5 hours and I was very happy to have completed the record in 4hours, 1 minute. It was very windy and choppy for an inland paddler like me. I had to battle very hard not to be pushed into the banks and I took a few swims in the cold water. Now I must to go back and knock off that 1 minute.”
Paddle Skedaddle Course Record (14’ hardboard) Norfolk, Uk
“In May, I was very happy to win this popular UK endurance race for the 3rd year running. I set another course record for the 26.75km course of 2hours, 52mins averaging just over 9.3kmph.”
SUP 11 City Tour non-stop and 5-day Race Netherlands
“In September, Andy and I paddled the 210km non-stop Ultra marathon together in a time of c.35hours, 40mins. It was a mammoth achievement, paddling 4x longer than I've ever done previously. We battled extreme heat, heavy boat traffic, many hours of darkness, sickness, inflammation, injury and thick pea-soup fog. It was by far the hardest thing that I've ever done but also one of the most rewarding. It was only made possible by the excellent support of #TEAMSUP.
Just 2 days later, I did the 210km course again, entering in the 5-day event. I won 3rd place overall the men's open age category. I was overjoyed to podium in this highly competitive international event, especially having been the only racer in my category to have just completed the non-stop. It taught me that the body has an exceptional capacity to heal and perform when the mind is determined.”
Andy Clark -
Paddle Skedaddle Course Record (14’ Inflatable) Norfolk, UK
“This year has been an epic paddling year for me with several highlights, starting by qualifying as a British Canoe Level 1 SUP instructor. My first race of the year was Paddle Skedaddle; winning the 14’ Inflatable class and beating my previous course record in this category.”
SUP 11 City Tour non-stop and 5-day Race Netherlands
“ I had planned to do Last Paddler Standing to see how far I could push my mind and body and did the 32-hour event at Colwick with the team in preparation. In the middle of the night, I had the realisation that my fear of alligators would overwhelm me paddling at night in Florida, so I decided not to enter, but I was left with a feeling of needing to test my mind and body, so I decided to train for the 11 Cities Non-Stop and the 5-day Race. My “test” paddle was a 16hr or 100km paddle whichever came first. On August 6th I completed 95.29km in 16hr 4mins, I discovered on this paddle that my mind is stronger than my body, which gave me enough confidence to sign up for the event. The 11 Cities Non-Stop event was an amazing experience; I paddled this with Mark Salter and we completed the 210km in 35.5hours. The conditions ranged from scorching sun to pea soup fog overnight. This was the challenge I had been looking for, knowing that my body would hurt and ache, but my mind wouldn’t let me stop. This was the hardest but most rewarding paddle I have ever done. The support I received during this event from the TeamSUP was amazing, and we couldn’t have completed this without Rhona and Cassie. My first reaction after completing the Non-Stop was, “I’m not doing the 5-day event”, but before I went to bed, I had already changed my mind. My body recovered well in the 2 days between events, and I felt ready to start again. The 5-day event was hard, but I had the inner confidence that I could complete it. I was very pleased to finish in 4th place in the Men’s Tour category. 2023 has been full of highlights for me and spending so much time with TeamSUP and making new friends has added to all of them.”
Karen Fletcher -
Ibiza (organised by us and hosted by SUP Ibiza)
“We got up nice and early to make it down to the beach where we did a sunrise yoga session. We worked out, got nice and sweaty and then we just sat on the rocks watching the sun come up over the bay. We spent the rest of the day doing our own thing; relaxing, swimming. My roomie and I walked along the front to one of the many fabulous restaurants and had some nice lunch. Later on we set out for a sunset paddle. I don't paddle as well as the rest of the group so instructor Lisa looked after me, made sure I was safe and enjoying myself. We watched the sun go down sitting on our boards. It was just perfect.”
Suzy Rigby -
The Last Paddler Standing: 48hr + Paddling challenge Florida, USA
“On the 2nd December I took on the challenge of the Last Paddler Standing event at Nathan Benderson Park in sunny Sarasota, Florida. Organised by Greg Wingo of Roam Project who also organises the Alabama 650 this event has a unique format of consecutive continuous 5.3km time trials over 48 hours. Each lap has to be completed within 1 hour. Every competitor having to start the next lap on the hour. If there are paddlers remaining at 48 hours the distance increases to 8km. Ultimately it is you against the clock with the last remaining Paddler having to complete one final lap on their own otherwise the race wins. Included in my training was a 32 hour challenge at Colwick Park which mimicked the format of the event albeit with shorter lap distances following that I concentrated on building time on the water. Getting my fuelling and hydration strategy correct would also be essential for such a long challenge and I incorporated this into m training testing different foods and recovery or energy powders. There was a great conversation going on between competitors and supporters in the months before the event via Facebook This helped to put me in contact with Jennifer and Chris Logan who were coming to watch the event from Minnisota and agreed to help out with come of the camp equipment like canopy, tables and ice boxes which although probably not essential made life more comfortable. They would also be there to support for Aaron who was going to have.his work cut out feeding and watering me. The race started at 9am on 2nd December. My strategy was to have a consistent pace of approx 47 minutes a lap. Leaving me 13 minutes to refuel. It was apparent from the forecast that the wind was going to pick up through the day but by 5pm should have dropped again. The first couple of laps were great and I was settling in well. Lap 3 began to get fairly tricky with the last corner and buoy being particularly exposed to a cross wind making the final left turn treacherous. It was on this turn on the 4 th lap where the gusty winds flipped my board and struggling to flip it back I timed out on the lap and my race was over. Not the end to my event that I was hoping for but by that time we were addicted to the race and invested in the successes of all the competitors. As other racers pulled out we joined the support crews for the remaining paddlers. Fetching coffee and smoothies, supporting the lap transitions as we moved through the night hours and mental fatigue was overtaking the physical challenges for both paddlers and support crew.. By the time 48 hours rolled on there were 5 paddlers remaining. Lindsey Tilton the last remaining female paddler pulled out at the 48th lap leaving Bruce Smith. John Knippers, Alexis Somoano And Blake Carmichael. With the distance increasing to 8 km in the 49th lap Bruce and John timed out by only minutes. In a touching moment of sportsmanship Alexis stood aside for Blake to complete the final lap in the last hour and take the title. This was made more meaningful as only a year before Alexis had sold Blake his first board. This was my first experience of an ultra endurance paddling event and it won’t be my last. Winning and losing was replaced by competitors invested in each others success. The most daunting part was entering in the first place but this experience has shown me that getting to the start line is the win and everything else is an unexpected bonus
Key learning points for me.
Firstly just commit – it took me a while to sign up but once the commitment is made it makes everything easier.
Get the nutrition and hydration right and test everything you may eat or drinkduring an event. Be realistic in you training goals. Each week I would look at the resources I had factoring in time (work and family commitments) levels of tiredness access to transport and plan the week accordingly – also don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go to plan stuff happens in life and you can adapt and adjust. Keep you sights on the event and not the training session you had to cut short.
Having people supporting you is key. Get family on board to support you training and during the event. Aaron thanks for crewing during the event and supporting my commitment to training. The support that I received from the Club was critical- if it takes a village to raise a child it takes a Club to achieve your paddling goals. They came out with me on my long paddles, lent me equipment, picked me up when I was wavering and had a watch party during the event so I felt supported from across the water. Thanks #Teamsup I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Kerry Allen -
Gla Gla Race France
“One of my biggest SUP Fitness highlights of the year has definitely been the GlaGla race, the beautiful lake Annecy in the French Alps….what a setting!!! It was a tough race with choppy conditions but I loved every minute, I definitely couldn’t have made it without the best support squad in the business cheering me on all the way round, coach Cassie guiding me when I took a wrong turn and the whole team there when I crossed the finish line.”
Lisa Grzeskowiak -
Gla Gla Race France
“The gla gla technical race was the first tech race I'd entered and trained for. The race started on the water with all classes starting at the same time. There had been changes to the course, but these had been delivered in French(!), so I had no idea what the changes were (the first one being the location of the start line!) I was at the back of the pack. This gave me the advantage of being able to follow everyone, but the disadvantage of wake and chop. The course included 10 buoy turns, both left and right with a short beach run up a pebble beach before hitting the water again for the second lap. Somehow the course had been designed so that those going out after the beach run crossed paths with those coming back down through the next lap. That made for an interesting moment! I remember wondering who had right of way, then realising that I had just as much right to be on that course as anyone else, so wasn't about to pause at the cross roads to give them a clear run. After that it was just navigating around the various turns (shouting out instructions to myself to make sure I had the paddle in the correct hand for the turn coming up) and improving judgement each time for where to dismount and relaunch the board at the beach runs. Finally I was on the last lap (which was a suprise to me because that was another change delivered in French that I'd missed!). I'd survived, without a splash. And the best part? All of it! It was fast, furious, chotic, crazy and immense fun! It's a race where anything can happen, where everything can change at a turn, where the race leader can suddenly be in fifth or sixth place because they misjudge the relaunch. There is everything to play for right up until the moment you cross that finish line. If you're thinking of doing it, DO IT! You've nothing to lose, and everything to gain.”
What were your paddling highlights of the year? and what are you looking forward to in 2024?
Comment below!
