WOW..... I would have never guessed I would have so much fun and meet such amazing people in North Dakota. I have been in Grand Forks North Dakota for a week and I feel sad to leave.
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| The 3 SUP racers for END WET (Joel, me, and Grant!) |
North Dakota is FLAT… possibly the flattest place I have
ever been to date. Andy picked me and my Starboard Astro inflatable up at the
Winnipeg airport. We drove about 2.5 hours south to Grand Forks North Dakota.
The next morning we got up for a media paddle/swim. The big
event for END WET this year was the 12 solo swimmers attempting to swim 27
miles of the Red River from Grand Forks N.D to Oslo MN. SUP was like a demo
sport/introduction of the sport to the area of Grand Forks. We had a fleet of 5
inflatables 2 of which were also racing with me the 27 miles down the Red
River. Thanks to Trident Sports
STARBOARD boards were the board of choice at
this event and hopefully within the population of Grand Forks ND thereafter
J
The rest of Thursday was dedicated to heping Andy get ready
for the event and enjoy meeting some new folks from the area. I was also able
to sneak in a 45min run along the Red RiverJ
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| The most impressive part of END WET swimming 27 miles! |
I spent my evenings at the Pecks residence. The Pecks are an
amazing family composed of an amazingly talented photographer (father), the
most helpful volunteer and kind person (mother) and two amazingly talented
daughters! They took care of me for most of my nights in North Dakota. I cannot
thank them enough and truly hope to meet them again!
Friday I decided to join Tammi for a 5:45am Ashtanga Yoga
class at the community YMCA. It was fabulous but truly very early for me. I do
love morning activities as long as I stil get my 8 hours of sleepJ
After the fabulous wake up call/yoga class I joined some yogis for breakfast at
Dakota Harvest, a local café that also supported the END WET race. YUMMY. The
rest of the day consisted of hydrating and ding some more pre race faff.
Saturday: RACE DAY!
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| Paddling out the swimmers at 7am! |
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| Start of paddling portion of END WET |
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| Portage after 1.97 miles |
I got the fabulous honours of paddling out with the swimmers
for the first 1.97miles of the swim. It was yet a nother early morning BUT
totally worth it. 15 swimmers headed out into the Red Rover at 7am. There were
12 solo swimmers (1 swimmer completed the entire swim while doing the butterfly
stroke!) and 3 relay swim teams. It took the first swimmers about 35minutes to
complete the first part of the swim. Everyone had to get out of the water for a
mandatory portage around the dam. Once the swimmers were through we had another
3 hours until the paddlers got to begin. Grant (another SUP racer) and I helped
out Andy with paddler registration and guarding of the boats. Eventually we met
up with Joel (the 3rd SUP paddler for the event) we hung out and
tested out the boards. We were all on the Starboard Astro Inflatables. Not
ideal for racing on flat water but great for travelling and beginners!
Once the race got way it was HOT out but I had my camelback
filled with nuun and some snacks packed in there just in case. The first 1.97
miles to the portage were quick. I came in 5
th place among all
paddlers! I decided to run the portage. I was wearing the
INOV 8 evoskins for added protection against the little
rocks and spiky grass. They worked, but ended up taking them off for the rest
of the paddle so my feet could breathe. The rest of the paddle was calm, quiet,
HOT but peaceful. My hands were blistering from my sweat but I was okay with
that. At the half way point I stoped at the pantoon and refilled my water and
got a cold snickers bar (sooooo good!Thank you Peck Family!) Refueled and
excited for the last part of the race. I was really excited to pass some
swimmers and see how they were holding up. I managed to paddle past 10 of the
15 swimmers and I have to say I was impressed. Everytime I passed a swimmer I
told myself I had to reason to complain about the heat or my blistered hands or
my triceps getting sore…. It was nothing compared to them….I managed to finish
in about 5 hours 15min which is
acceptable for me ont hat board. I was hoping to get under 5 hours but am still
happy with my paddle. I stuck around with Andy and Wes Peck until the final
swimmer came in at 14 hours and 30 minutes. Dan the butterfly machine! It was
an awesome day out on the water and a great race. I can feel the SUP stoke
building in this little flat town! LOVE
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| END WET SUP on red river....27 miles! |
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| Mile markers on the RED, 6 miles left to go! |
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| YEAH! Finish line! 5 hours 15 min |
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| Finish was in Oslo, MN! |
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| Pretending I am as hardcore as the swimmers! Robert, Tobias, and Eric all finished the 27 mile swim along with the all the other competitors! |
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| Emma shows her Congrats to DAD, Dave! |
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| AMAZING! Butterfly for 27 miles, 14 hours and 30 min! Inspiring! |
Sunday we all had a well deserved sleep and got up in time
for the awards ceremony at 11am. The awards took place at the Fire Hall
Theatre. Darren Miller inspired us by showing us a film about his many swim
crossings from around the world, the mayor spoke and the awards were presented!
The vibe was just so positive and exciting, I loved chatting to swimmers from
around the continent and world(Malaysia!). After a quick lunch with the Pecks
we headed to a local Park so I could teach a SUP clinic and have people try out
the demo Starboard boards. About 15 people showed up and I would have to call
it a great success! People were out on the boards, smiling, laughing, trying
different tricks, falling in! It was AWESOME!
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| Land Intro to the class |
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| Practicing some complex yoga moves |
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| Pros already! |
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| 360 on the board! |
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| Erin |
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| Megan |
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| New Instructor Andy! |
Monday I went out for a road ride with Tammi and her friend
Allison. It was about 1 hour 45min and I sure felt like I hadn’t been on a road
bike in a very long time… It was really fun to get out on the roads with these ladies
though, despite having a sore bum I was all smiles the whole time! Later that
afternoon we took the entire Magness clan out on the oards and paddled from
Lincoln Park to town. The boys were jumping from board to board and I was
trying to help out with ideas for potential SUP yoga and SUP Fit classes they
could teach! In the evening I got to help out with club climb night at the
roack gym. I also got to try a few climbs which totally gave me some climbing
stoke back! SOOOOO many fun things to do and sooo little time to do it all…
AHHHHH!
Tuesday, it was time to fly back to Vancouver!
I had such a wonderful time in Grand Forks! Thanks to Andy
and Tammi Magness, the Peck family and all the wonderful people I met that are
part of this cool little community! I will never forget you!
Live, love, laugh,…DREAM!
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| headstand pros! |
ALL PICTURES were taken by WES PECK! Awesome job and thanks for sharing!
www.endracing.com
live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina
1 comment:
It was so fun to watch you on the river, Lina. I have enjoyed reading your story about the whole adventure. Thanks for the SUP clinic on Sunday. It was a great time doing something I'd never done before. I hope to do it again soon.
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