Goldrush 24 hour AR - August 2nd, 2008

Here is the race report I posted to the Trailblazers forum:

http://www.trailblazerar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5500&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

In short, it was an amazing experience. I totally enjoyed the solo format. It wasn't scary like I thought it would be. I think training alone in Pisgah or deep in the woods of "Deliverance" country would be scarier. Because out there you could be miles away from the nearest person and no-one would be able to hear a blast of your whistle in case of emergency.

Anyway, it was quite an event over there in Northern GA.

Beaufort Water Festival - July 28

It was another beautiful day at the Marina in Beaufort. There was a 3 mile and 6 mile race and this time the distances were more accurate than the River Quest held in the same location this past June. Saturday’s race was part of their annual water festival. There were close to 30 boats total including about 6 surf skis and some fairly stable K1’s, made by KayakPro and Plastex. I used my 18X touring boat. Facing a pretty strong headwind when the gun went off I was surprised to see that I was out in front by myself. I kept expecting one of the racing boats to come around me and when that happened I had planned to draft off them. But since my pace was sustainable I just stayed out in front for 1.5 miles, well after the headwind. One surf ski dude paddled along my side for a while and we chatted a bit before he eased ahead of me. But I noticed he had trouble in the crosswind and while he tried to pass a buoy on the left his stern got kicked to the right and slowed him down as he ran right into it. (I guess that's where you appreciate having a boat that's not only more stable, but 10-15 lbs heavier). I got out in front for a while before he caught me again at about the 2 mile mark as we rounded our circumnavigation of a long, narrow island. That’s where he pulled away from me. I know that feeling when you’re in a surf ski and everything behind you lifts up and all of a sudden you feel like you’re coasting downhill. It’s an amazing experience. I benefitted from the tailwind also, of course, but not like him. I paddled hard to try to keep him within reach so I could maybe catch him as we hit the start/finish line for our 2nd lap. That headwind on the 2nd lap did help me gain some time back, but not everything I needed to bridge the gap. By then, the race was between me and him. There wasn’t anyone else near us. I thought it would be pretty cool to take an overall win on a touring boat, so I made a few surges to try to catch him during our 2nd trip around the island. My plan was to periodically sprint for 30 paddle strokes before returning to normal race pace. The problem was that after sprinting I was hard pressed to maintain the pace I had before-hand. I was burning up in my pfd with the heat of the day. I normally train without it because I prefer the freedom of movement. The good thing is that I had a bladder of cold water available to me without having to stop paddling so that helped for hydration, but it didn’t seem to cool me down. I was just burning up and it wasn’t going to get any better if I was still going to try to catch the leader. As we rounded the half way point around the island I knew I only had the advantage of the cross wind for a few more minutes before we hit the tailwind towards the finish line. At that point I’d be toast, so I had to make some sort of effort soon. I saw that he was traveling extremely close to the edge of the island and I thought he may hit a sandbar if he stayed on that route. I figured his goal was to chop a slight bit of distance toward the downwind section. At the time, I believed my only chance was to stay out to sea a little ways and try to round the island wide so as to steer clear of any shallow water. I saw the gap closing in and was nearly side by side when I thought I could catch him and maybe overtake him with a good burst, but he slithered through a narrow section of deeper water while I speared my paddle into nothing but sand. Man, was I upset with myself! For a split second I thought about portaging for 20 feet through ankle deep water after I read the visual cue of where it was ending, but I decided to shove off and head laterally for the same strip he went through which indeed was the way to go. He had deep enough water to go right through it. Dang, I was screwed now. All I could do was maintain the intensity and ignore the continued build up of heat with the sun on my pfd for the last mile. I crossed the line about 90 seconds behind him and immediately splashed myself down with a bunch of saltwater. Then I dropped the boat off at the dock and jumped in for a swim to cool down. That felt so good I didn’t think I was ever going back to shore. I just floated around and waited for my temp to return to something halfway normal. This was a good lesson for Goldrush. That pfd is like a blanket on a hot day. You want to be in the water with that thing on. Hydration is good, but bottles of water over the head could be better if you’re not able to get in the water to cool off. Otherwise, I suppose you could just lower the intensity level. That would definitely be advisable in a 24 hour event. Karen missed the overall female win in the 3 miler by 53 seconds. The gal who won it runs a kayak tour service with her husband. Nice lady.

3 Mile Kayak Race Results
Mike Marion 33:56 1st Overall Male
DJ Henry 34:11 1st Male Touring
Mike Murphy 34:37 1st Male Senior Touring
Kim Gundler 35:25 1st Overall Female
Karen Valdiness 36:18 1st Female Touring
Palo Luzny 36:46 2nd Male Touring
Mike Konoza 37:32 2nd Male Senior Touring
Susan Kulrik 37:57 1st Female Senior Touring
Scott and Elizabeth Maher 40:53 1st Tandem
Marvin and Campbell Dukes 41:09 2nd Tandem
Rhonda Marek and Celene Lampright 45:10 3rd Tandem
Morrow Dodge 52:25 1st Male Recreation

6 Mile Kayak Race Results
Carl Moore 25:49/52:10 1st Overall Male
John Wellens 26:22/53:33 1st Male Touring
Dinah and Barry Brock 29:02/59:33 1st Tandem
Edward Dukes 29:21/1:00:15 1st Male Ski/Racing
Brian Houston 31:38/1:05:02 1st Senior Ski/Racing
Keith Davis 30:00/1:03:51 2nd Male Ski/Racing
David Gorzynski 31:40/1:04:32 2nd Male Touring
Natalie Carillo 32:20/1:05:01 1st Overall Female
Lindsey Carr 32:24/1:05:12 1st Female Ski/Racing
Michael Forsee 34:29/1:10:09 1st Senior Recreation
Gregg Gilmer 36:01/1:15:19 1st Male Senior Touring
Jeanette Chapman 35:45/1:15:19 1st Female Senior Touring
Kevin Green and Chris Petris 36:34/1:14:53 2nd Tandem