The Story

First, I'm sorry to be the source of so much drama. That said, here's what happened: No one got much sleep the night before the race. The first challenge was a 31 mile lake crossing. I hit the lake just as a strong, windy rain shower opened up. Up ahead of me a fellow competitor had capsized and was in serious trouble. I'll tell you his story another time. I got to the end of the lake check point around midnight. The river below the lake was fast. Even at midnight there is some light but moving so fast over 40 degree water required pretty intense focus. Around 3AM I noticed the water on the deck of my boat was freezing. I was bare handed and my fingers were really cold so I pulled over to get some gloves out of a hatch. I was unsteady when I stood up and I lost my balance and fell in the river. I obviously had to change clothes. There are time constraints at some of these check points and I was uncomfortably close to the cut off time. Because of that I was paddling harder than my normal stroke rate. As the race progressed, noon came and went (that's 24 hours in the boat) my body began to talk to me. I started to think that maybe I should listen. I had been having sleep deprivation hallucinations all day so I knew something was going to require attention soon. The CP where I elected to withdraw was 30 miles from Carmacks. I might have been able to go 30 more miles but I was certain that I would not be able to start day 2 of the race so to continue was pointless. I have a clear conscience about my decision. I am stubborn, I am determined, but I'm generally, not stupid. This race was beyond my capabilities. My boat is not a racing boat. Training was difficult due to our move and the long drive out here. I wasn't ready and I'm not sure I could ever be ready. I paddled 154 miles in 27 hours. Not bad for an old man.