Summer Recap: Canoe Edition

This Summer had quite a full paddling schedule.  Mike and I raced the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, and won the mixed division. The field was incredibly deep, and we managed to finish 12th overall.  It wasn't our best race, but toughed it out and did what we needed to in order to beat the guys we were around.

Mid-August put me in Western Pennsylvania racing the USCA Canoe Nationals. I raced three days in a row on a 2 hour 15 minute course on the Susquehanna River. The first day was the C1 race, the second C2 women's, and the final day was C2 mixed. I was able to win all three days, and while all the races were good, my best race was probably with my mom in the women's race. We have never won a nationals together and we had very tough competition, but we ran  a smart race and pulled ahead the whole way.

The third leg of the Triple Crown of canoe racing, the Classique in Quebec is my favorite race of the canoe season. It's a 3 day stage race that ends in the St. Lawrence River.  The Classique really tests a paddler's skill. Dad and I raced together and we ended up 4th in the mixed and 21st overall, putting in a very solid effort.

My final effort of the season was the Catalina Crossing in mid-September.  This was an approximately 35 mile canoe race in a 6  person Outrigger canoe. We had 9 women on the team and exchanged 3 paddlers every 20 minutes. I had never raced an outrigger race before, so it was a very new experience. Our team had a good race and were 5th out of 68 teams.

After such a fun season, I celebrated the weddings of fellow paddling ladies Hailey and Emma. It was so much fun to see all of the paddlers dressed up and having fun outside of the boat.

After such a busy summer, Mike decided to race 6 man outrigger, so now we are in Hawaii. Aloha!!