Thank you to Supconnect for all their support

SupConnect

   I've received support from so many individuals through my racing career I can't begin to thank everyone. I do try because it means a great deal to me personally. However looking back and now in the present there's a platform that has really accepted me in the SUP world and taken it upon them selves to promote what I do. I'll let you take a look at what I found Friday morning as I was browsing different SUP media: 

Click here: SupConnect

 

 

 

Pretty cool That they took it upon themselves to write the story and pull this unterview up from a little while back. 

 

     My first relationship with the organization came from the 2012 Supconnect SUP man of the year competition. Someone who must know me entered me in the judging as it came as a surprise that I ended up there. Not thinking I had a chance, I watched as so many people cast their vote for me in the open round.  The support came in from all over the nation. Fast forward through the voting and I actually win the open round. OPEN ROUND WIN!

 

   Althought I didn't win the final round of voting, I  felt honored just to be amongst the top SUP athletes in the world in the voting process.  Crazily enough, Supconnect named me SUP man of the year 2012 honorary mention. 

 Here's their MENTION,

        "Supconnect would also like to congratulate Shane Perrin, an extreme distance stand up paddler, who was the outstanding winner of the open nominations phase of Supconnect SUP Man of the Year. The love and support for him was extremely evident and the number of votes that poured in was inspirational. He has been given an honorary mention title in the 2012 Supconnect SUP Man of the Year Awards."

 

 Thanks SupConnect!
And thanks for promoting the upcoming expedition:



Crowdfunding

$2400 funded for the expedition. Thanks to my Sponsors

$2400 raised in the first week! Thank you to all my sponsors that have made the expedition a success already.  The toughest part of a race/expedition is getting there. These people made it possible to reach the first goal of $2400. Now anything else donated goes towards the purchase of Boards for dialysis patiens, transplant recipients, and those on a wait list.


You can become a sponsor here: http://www.gofundme.com/10-days-400-miles

Abu Dhabi -
Jen Scully  with http://www.livelovesup.com/#


Connecticut
  Nick Sezenias, Kim Aubin ( The woman who donated her kidney to me)

Illinois:

LaGenia Bailey

Florida:

Melissa & Tim Jay, Corrective care chiropractic
 

Ohio-
  Bill Cochrane-owner of Nalu Sup and Surf (on my left) and Brian Wilse (on my right),

 Monica Opdycke, Phil Budowanec, Jill Jankowski



 

 

 

 Maryland:

Mac balatico

 

Missouri:
 

 

Gary Stokes,  Andrew Goold, Sandy Habeck,  Kelly "Hondo" Larkin,  Chris Clinton,

Cindy Abernathy,  Anna & Tom Blanchard, Dorothy Holzwarth,  Ellen Strubert, Kin Reed, Joe&chrissy Eickhorst, Patricia & Dan Belmont (my father in-law pictured below), Lindsey Mueller, Sue Donnelly, Satish Gopinathan, David & Kathi Broughton

Minnesota:
Randi &Kristjin Arnar

 

 

New York:Erica hamilton
(yup that was from 2000. I still had hair!)
 

Virginia:

 Robert Harris
 

Sweden:
Henrik Friberg

Texas:

Donna Cannon, Katie Schumacher, RIO SUP, Jason Black, Devin Gates, Donald Garcia, Bill siersdorfer, Lindsay Stillman, Carlos Mata, Mike Dey

 

Washington:
Matt Myers
 

 

Wisconsin:
David Schultz with Longboat kayak


 

Unknown origins of Sponsors:  anonymous, Jeff and Mistie Rhomberg, Lisa Applegate, Anne Nischke,  Jeff Gibson,  Joe Vohs,  Craig May, Theresa Nicholson, anonymous
^ Email me if your name appears on this list so I can  add you above



 

 







GoFundMe campaign kicks off January 15th!

GoFundMe campaign

 

 

   In less than 2 weeks I will start a fundraiser campaign that will allow you to be part of a 400 mile ocean expedition. I'll be paddling From Tampa, FL. to Key Largo in the Florida Everglades challenge. I'll have 8 days to cover the 300 mile distance of the race.  Once completed I'll attempt to paddle on to make it to Key West.  All with a time of 10 days. All to promote organ and tissue donation.

 

   When the campaign goes live on January 15th, you will be able to become a sponsor of the project.  As a sponsor you will receive daily video sent via email during the expedition

 

 

 

 

   What you can do now to help is promote this video by  copy and pasting the link below:
http://www.gofundme.com/10-days-400-miles

 to your facebook and twitter.

 

 

 

Thank you, from the crew

Michael, me, and Karen

 

 About the race:
 

 What does expedition-style mean? It means that you need to be self-sufficient and carry all the supplies and equipment that you would expect to carry on a major kayaking or sailing expedition. This is not a “round the buoys” race with an empty boat and someone watching out for your safety. You are on your own.

 The physical demands of the race, combined with sleep deprivation, heat, cold, water, dehydration, and exhaustion, often cause participants to become disoriented. Amnesia, hallucinations, hypothermia, and other debilitating conditions are not uncommon. Such effects can impair judgment, a condition especially dangerous for the solo paddler or sailor.



 

 



Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding

400+ mile ocean expedition - March 2013

My 400 mile ocean expedition - March 2013
To promote organ and tissue donation

 

 

     The idea for a 400+ mile ocean expedition started after finishing the Texas Water Safari ,
june 2012. During the TWS, as the Safari is called by those that have experienced it, I paddled some miles with a guy named Bill Siersdorfer. What I liked about this guy right away is that he races with an unconventional craft, like me.  Bill uses a front rowing system where he's able to use his legs or arms to paddle with. Sort of like a rowing configuration.

 

 

Me during the Texas Water Safari 2012

 

Bill during the Texas Water Safari



 

 



    Post race Bill and I kept communications through facebook. We talked about future races we were both doing and he mentioned he was thinking on the Florida Everglades Challenge.  It's a 300 mile self supported expedition race from Tampa (Fort Desoto) to Key Largo, Florida.

 There are a few die hard canoe and kayak paddlers that enter, but predominantly it's raced by sail powered water craft. 

 

     Like the Texas Water Safari, I look at the toughest, most challenging races out there.  The EC (everglades Challenge)  will be my toughest yet.   I have little knowledge of tide changes, currents, under tows, and channels of the ocean. Also mangroves, fingers, and navigation by gps and charts to deal with.  The crazy part is, I've never paddled a SUP in the ocean! 

 

To catch me up to speed I am relying heavily on a great friend, Dwayne Vanhoose. He's been a sailor and a paddler for many years. He once lived on a boat for some years! He's schooling me on ocean navigation, chart use, and gps use for the expedition.

 

 

 



From left: Dwayne's epic kayak, Dwayne Vanhoose, 

Ben Mcnabb  (ground for dwayne's 2012 MR340)

 

    

     So the idea to enter a 300 mile self-supported ocean race is crazy enough. Yet, it gets better. No matter what the conditions, you get 8 days to finish!  But I guess not enough for me.  Once I've finished the race and made it to Key Largo, I'm planning to continue on and try to make it to Key West.  I'm hoping for 400+ miles.  The odds are stacked against me attacking a race of this magnitude, add in I'm trying to become the first person to complete this race on a stand up paddle board.

     The biggest obstacle is I have limited time off from work. so far I have 7 days vacation. By race day I should have about 9 days off.   The crew and I are leaving on February 28 after work and driving straight through to get in Tampa for the check-in by friday 5pm. Race day is Saturday march 2nd. So I'll have 10 days to cover 400+ miles before we have to drive home so I can get back to work.

 

I'll be relying heavily on my crew to drive through the night From St. Louis to Tampa and post race back from Key West to St. Louis.  I'm fortunate enough to have the same crew from the MR340 helping for the Everglades challenge.

 

My amazing crew for the 2012 MR340 and now for the 2013 Everglades expedition:

 Michael "Rokos on the Rocks" Rokos

 

 

 Karen "Amazonia" Schubert

 

 

 

    For the last piece of the puzzle, I'll be relying on my family, friends, and SUPporters.  I'll be doing a kick starter program to make it all happen (check out  kickstarter to get an idea how it works.) It allows people like you to be part of the expedition. By becoming backers of the expedition, you'll receive exclusive rewards from the expedition. Some rewards include daily videos from me during the expedition emailed to you, or full dvd of the expedition, or expedition T-shirts.  A select few will receive my actual race shirts from the expedition. And there will be more.

 

  This expedition will be used to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation.  Having a kidney transplant in 2001 myself, I believe the easiest thing we can do is have that little box checked on our driver license that says "Organ Donor".  Through the gift of organ donation, people like myself are given a second chance at life to achieve great things!

 

 

So for now, happy holidays. Be safe.

  keep in mind that Mid-january the Kickstarter program starts and only lasts for 32 days to become part of this epic journey!

 

 

 That little yellow decoration standing at the base of the tree is my son Luke! Big tree.

    



 



Wsupa SUP instructor certification

Over the Weekend I flew down to Tampa, Fl. to stay with a friend of 16 years.  It was great to catch up with him,  but I flew to Tampa for a very specific purpose, to get my SUP Instructor certification from the WSUPA (World Stand Up  Paddling Association).

Why is this important?
     I've been doing stand up for 4 years now and been racing for 2.  You'd think a guy like me knows what there is to know about SUP.  Wrong! That's the beauty of the sport, you never stop learning.
     Master instructors Dan Gavere and Harmony Dawn headed up the lesson.  The day started at the The Salty Rim restaurant.  Not open for business, but the back deck was open for eager SUP people. After sign in and basic knowledge such as SUP history, stroke, loading a board etc. (given by us the students), Dan began teaching dry land basics including stroke technique via an inflatable SUP on bosu balls.

Dan Teaching  stroke work

After 2 hours of land knowledge we broke for lunch. Mmmmm fish tacos!  A quick half hour later it was time to slather the sunscreen and suit up for the water portion of the class.  We started with stroke work on the water and had to demonstrate we we know and have learned.  I learned little tips in my technique that helped quite a bit.  Small tweaks make a difference in teaching a client and demonstrating properly.  "paddle to reflect your instruction". In other words, at all times you're with clients, demonstrate proper technique as your clients will watch you and copy what you do.  If you use bad form while paddling, they'll see it.
    





ASI class in Treasure Island, FL 11/11/12
From Left to Right
Harmony, Bailey,  Maddison, Marc, Glen, Me, Cubi, Prestcott, and Dan

Towards the back end of the class we had a little race. Now it looks like i've jumped out ahead of everyone, but the truth is, there was some sabotage.  Marc popped Bailey off her board with a paddle to the rails which caused a cluster of un-balance.  I managed to finish way ahead of everyone and when I cam in I told Dan, That's my new race strategy, let everyone crash in the beginning and then I can win!



   The purpose of the race was to explain to us that it's one thing to have good form while teaching. But it's a whole other to keep good form while going 100%.  While teaching clients, make sure you slow down and explain and demonstrate at a speed that's easy to follow.

A nice shot on the water. We learned rescues to distressed paddlers using our boards to tow and push others.

 

 

 



Post class Pic.  We are all certified ASI instructors.

Now, home in St. Louis, Mo. I am able to bring my new knowledge to my business Supstlouis. I am more confident in my abilities to instruct clients properly and feel thie certification offers alot.  I am currently the only ASI certified instructors in the state of Missouri and proud to say that.  Next I'm looking for further certifications from the ACA and once I've logged enough hours, I will get certified by the Wsupa with a level 2 cert. 

Supstlouis

If you're ever in St. louis and want to get out on a board, just get a hold of me. I'd be happy to take you out whether on a lake for your first time, or the big river as pictured!

DAY 4 – Thursday, August 2nd


Chamois, MO
Not a checkpoint, but still 245 miles into the race

View from the crew
As told by Karen:

It was a rough drive to this dot on the map (is it SHAM-mee or sham-WAH?).   After dodging some backyard fixtures, we doubled back and found the access road.  Upon arrival, we immediately went to sleep.  I ended up somehow draped across the front seats with seat belt buckles poking me, and Michael slept in the grass again.  At least he got smart and completely wrapped himself up before lying down so the bugs wouldn’t eat him up.  It looked like a body bag on a hill.  In any case, we only got a couple of hours of sleep again. 

     Shane had texted me at 3am that he was falling asleep on his board and was going to stop and sleep for a while.  Dwayne hadn’t decided to stop there, but Joe did, so Madeline showed up after sunset (which was beautiful over the river).  Eventually Shane made his way in, tired but in good spirits.  He made requests for food for the next stop (always a good sign, none of the racers wanted to eat in the brutal heat), and I actually got him to do some personal hygiene.  He brushed his teeth and took a shower—with soap!  But then he put all his gross racing clothes back on.  Sigh. It’s like a dog rolling in the dirt after you give him a bath.  Can’t win them all, I guess.  Elissa had sent a short video of the kids that I showed Shane, and I heard a few “awww”s out of him.'

                                            "The vids and pics from my wife are what get me through races"

Shane:
  The window of  every long race that is the toughest for me is between 2am to about 4:30 am.  I literally have fallen asleep while paddling.   When I start to dip to one side and my balance is off, I startle myself awakw then try not to fall off.  This year, surprisingly I didn't fall off.  Maybe I've gotten smarter.  But after texting Karen I paddled about 5 minutes and found a sand bar and pulled the board up and on.  I put on a windbreaker and pulled the hood on.  The take my floppy Columbia hat and drop it on my face to shield from bugs.  I took a short nap of about 15 minutes which is longet than my usual 8 minute nap.  I was feeling pretty crappy on top of sleep deprived.  The first night took alot out of me from being sick and basically  peeing out my butt for hours.  Then I couldn't eat for a few hours.  I got behind on my hydration that nigh so I had to catch up through the next day.

Karen:
After Shane shoved off once more, Michael and I piddled around again, taking some more crazy pictures.  Someone came by and asked if knew what the name of the city was about.  Michael immediately came up with a story about John Chamois in the 1800’s, and how he made a towel out of a leather hide or something ridiculous, but he sounded really sincere and knowledgeable.  Our jaws dropped.  “Is that true?” the man asked.  Michael started laughing, “No, I just made it up.”  I think he could’ve gotten away with it if he hadn’t cracked a smile.  We finished up and piled back into the car, bidding adieu to Madeline.  Hermann, here we come!

Hermann, MO Checkpoint 7
269 miles into the race

We knew we were getting close to being done when we made it to Hermann.  It was a short trip down the river since we broke it up by stopping in Chamois. We stopped at a store to get the food Shane requested, then hit Hermann.  Shane was closing in on the Hermann Checkpoint as told to us by His wife via text.  It was drizzling now, thankfully cooling things off a bit (if the 90’s can be “cooled off”).   I saved half my rib-eye sandwich, thinking Shane would like it.  We were trying anything we could to make sure he was eating good solid food.  When he did show up, the first thing I offered was the rib-eye, which he gobbled down.  His feet were terribly sore.  It had been a battle all race long.  He had gotten some new shoes from the local Comumbia Shoe rep, Mark Panu, and hadn’t broken them in.  His wide feet were rubbing along the edge of his shoes and the outside of his feet were extremely sore.  We had tried icing, wearing flip-flops, anything and everything we could.  But he was in a good mood since he found out Pau Hana, one of his sponsors, had released a trailer of a documentary about him and it was getting a lot of response already. 
La Ruta Maya Trailer
After eating, he decided to take an “eight-minute” nap.  He went up on a bank and passed out, right there in the grass and dirt.  Sure enough, eight minutes later, he gets up, refreshed.

 We decide to break up the next leg of the race again and stop at another access point.  After Shane leaves, we point Jane towards Washington, MO.

Shane:
   One thing that I've yet to figure out is footweat.  The Columbia drain maker's I wore for this race were great, except they weren't wide enough and I didn't break them in. They tore my feet up terribly.

Being on my feet for so long,   under my feet got rubbed raw and then later scabbed  up.  Then the rubbing of the toes ended with my toe nails falling off.

Washington, MO  Not a check point
But 292 miles into the race

Karen:

Washington may be one of the biggest non-checkpoints in the race, and a great place to stop on the second-to-last leg.   The weather swung between being sunny and humid and being overcast and humid.    Time dragged on.  A larger motor boat (don’t know if it was an official spotter boat or not) pulled in from up the river and we asked if they had seen Shane—he’s not that hard to miss.  “Oh yeah,” one of them said.  “He was on a bank, totally passed out, then all of a sudden just popped up and got on his board and paddled.”   I later got out my camera and showed the picture I took at Hermann of him lying in the dirt and grass.  “Did he look like this?”  I asked.  They laughed, “Yup, that was him!”  
  
Shane:
      At this point I was  still in good spirits, but physically pretty beat up.  The heat was 102-106 degrees each day. It really sucked the life out of me.  I was told alot of people had dropped out due to the heat.  I just dealt with it.  Once a day I'd hit a point where my body just needed to shut down. I've learned through racing thet 8 minutes is my lucky time frame.  After 8 minutes of laying in the dirt I'd jump up with the alarm and just get on the board and go.


karen:
      AsShane was paddling up to the boat ramp.  There was nowhere to really dock the boat without destroying the fin underneath, so Shane told Michael to take it to the dock nearby.  “You want me to carry it?”  “No, just paddle it over.”  Didn’t have to ask Michael twice!  His moment of glory:  paddling the board 25 feet to the dock.  Shane’s feet were still a mess, and we decided a new strategy.  We took Michael’s foam pad, whicj he had been sleeping on,  and folded it a few times, duct tapied it to the board so Shane could stand on it barefoot.  Shane scarfed down half the sandwich, talking to Ben and some others there while I ran to the car at least four times.  It seemed I didn’t have any of the things Shane needed and every time I went to the car, I always forgot something.  Was I really this unprepared?  Or are we just changing things on the fly? 

Klondike, MO The final checkpoint
 311 miles into the race

   It was Thursday evening, and we could feel the end coming.
Soon the time came for Shane to come in.  Madeline had pulled in, and went down to the boat ramp with us.  When I had asked Shane a few weeks earlier what to get at Walmart, one of his more sarcastic answers was “assless chaps”.  I actually found a pair at the party store.  I put them on, along with a cape, and the El Agua Escorpion luchador mask.   Sure enough, when he pulled in, he burst out laughing.  He nicknamed me “La Agua Pequena”—The Little Water.  I guess that’s like a petite flower.

   After 20 minutes at the checkpoint, I sent him off with the same battle cry I had given at every stop (except Waverly): “Rock the water!!!”

Shane:
  Non-racers may not understand it, but racers do.  When you pull into a checkpoint the best thing you could receive is not tangible.  It's just seeing yor crew.  For me, it's everything.  Familiar faces and voices do heaps for me.  It energizes me more than any food or drink.  Just a few minutes with them gets me going.
    This year, the costumes karen wore just changed it all.  I  was laughing my butt off for hours after I'd leave a checkpoint.  The costumes were inside jokes that most people didn't get.  I think that's what made me laugh even more!

Moving into DAY 5 – Friday, August 3rd

 340 miles!

  When we drove over to The finish, we found Jill (owner of Piddle Paddle LLC) had made it from KC to St. Charles to see the finish, a pleasant surprise we hadn’t known about. 

                                                        Jill with Shane at an Earlier Checkpoint

The wait began.  It was hard to see anything, but we were on pins and needles, eager to see Dwayne.  I thought I saw him and started cheering him on, “Bring it home, Dwayne!”  After a moment someone said, “I think that’s a rock.”  Michael tested it out.  “Marco!”  He stopped and listened.  No answer.  Boy, was I embarrassed.  Dwayne finally came around the last wingdyke and pulled in to our clapping and cheering.  He officially was 17th, although at the time we thought he was 18th in men’s solo.  Top 20!  A HUGE accomplishment!  Go Dwayne!  He took a well-deserved shower and hung out with us on the beach, waiting for Shane and Joe and getting absolutely slap happy with Ben. 
                                                       Dwayne (grey Shirt) and Ben

  We continued to wait.  I had figured on roughly a 1:30am finish time for Shane, but starting seriously watching the shoreline for him at 1am.  His time the year before was 1:39am, and he was hoping to beat it.  However, factoring in the heat and the fact that the river was flowing slower than last year, we figured he blew away his time from last year, relatively speaking.  Elissa texted that he was under the 364 bridge.  We glued our eyes to the darkness, looking for lights to come down the river.  Every time we saw one, our excitement soared, only to find out it was another kayak or canoe.  Finally—FINALLY—we saw the lights that could only belong to a stand-up paddleboard.  I got my phone turned on to video and we started cheering.  We could faintly see the outline of him, paddling for all he was worth, finishing strong and trying to break his record.  And then everyone saw it—the cape and the mask.  Huge laughter from the bank.  With a grand flourish, El Agua Escorpion ran off his board and onto the bank---then turned right around and went back into the water to grab his board which was floating away.  He dragged it onto shore to applause and cheers.  And his time:  1:41am.  SOOOOO close!  We were so incredibly proud of him. 
    .  We let Shane do the rounds while Michael and I loaded the board on top of the car and everything else into the car.  Shane wandered over eventually and climbed in, lying on the backseat.  Both boys fell asleep as soon as I turned onto I-270.  I honestly don’t know how we got home, I was so tired.  We finally made it to Shane’s house, throwing everything in the garage.  Elissa came out and I showed her the finishing line video.  Shane went in to bed, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before work, and Michael and I left for home.  I was a little more awake on the drive home, and collapsed into bed at 4:30am Friday morning.  I woke up somewhere around noon later that day.

My first thought: “That was awesome!  When do I get to do this again!”  Then I took out my phone and looked through the pictures for the hundredth time. 

                         My Awesome crew: Michael and Karen.  A huge thanks to them for this one!

Shane:
The finish was a relief and a let down.  I was happy to be back to normal life and to see my family soon, but sad I wasn't going ot be on my board the next morning.  I missed beating my last year's time by 3 minutes.  Considering the river was flowing half the rate as last year, I'll consider it progress.
  It was a tough race and a definate proving ground for ultra distance on a SUP. A proving ground I'd like to invite any other brave Stand Up Paddle boarder to try.  Just let me know and I'll help in any way I can.  shaneperrin@gmail.com
Check out rivermiles.com for more info. Registration starts January 1st.

I'd like to thank some folks for their hand in making me successful:

My wife and mother in-law Patti for all their support.  They take care of the kids and hold down the fort while I'm training or racing.

Pau Hana http://pauhanasurfco.com/ for making a fast and sleek board in the 14' Crossfit!

Maui Jim: http://www.mauijim.com/ For their "canoes" style shades

Surfco Hawaii: http://www.surfcohawaii.com/ For the rubberized proteck fins and ez plugs to hold gear to the board

SlickSup: http://slicksup.com/SlickS_UP/SlickS_UP.html  For making an affordable and effective co-polymer wax that makes the board slick and faster

Radio Chum: http://distressedmullet.com/radio-chum-2/how-to-listen-to-radio-chum-the-worlds-first-247-stand-up-paddle-radio-station
For 24/7 SUP news  and cool music

2012 MR340 Part 3

2012 MR 340 Part 3

 

 

Day 3 – Wednesday, August 1st

 

Glasgow, MO     Checkpoint 4

141 miles into the race

 

View from the crew (as observed by Karen)

     We made it to Glasgow quickly so we could catch a few hours of sleep before Shane came in. .  Shane seemed off pace, and didn’t have a spot tracker, so we had to guesstimate when he would come into each checkpoint.  I calculated that the earliest he would get there would be 6am.  Michael smiled and said, “You can start looking for him at 6.  I’ll look for him at 7.  Betcha he won’t be here till 8.”  We settled in for the night, Michael under a tree on a sleeping pad and me in the front seat of the car. 

                                                Michael  (crew) crashed out catching a few hours sleep 

 

 

    I woke up at 5:30 and put all the supplies together as Michael continued sleeping, then headed down to the waterway right at 6:30.  There was a guy with binoculars there, and I asked him, “Have you been here for awhile?”  He shook his head no.  I turned to some others next to him, “Have YOU been here for awhile?”  They nodded.  “Have you seen the guy on the stand-up paddleboard?”  Before they could answer, the guy with the binoculars said, “He’s coming in right now.”  WHAT??!?!?!?  Panic set in.  I ran back to the car, screaming, “Michael!  Michael!!  MIIIII-CHAELLLLLL!!!!!!”  He popped his head up, “What?”  “Shane’s coming!”  The next scene was out of a cartoon.  Michael literally jumped off the pad with stuff flying everywhere. 

 

 

  Shane was in rough shape and decided to stay for a bit.  This was the beginning of when his bad gastrointestinal issues would start.  Actually, they had started earlier at Glasgow and on the river, but now Michael and I were really seeing it start to take its toll.  He took a rest on the pad that Michael had been occupying not too much earlier and dozed off.  That’s when I remembered I had bought a stuffed animal just for this occasion.  I put the little horse (dubbed “The Horse with No Name” by Michael) next to him. 

   

 

Shane

36 miles from the Miami Checkpoint to Glasgow. 36 miles doesn't seem alot but after paddling 105 miles already, it wears on you. I definately was feeling the effects of 100+ degree heat all day and now paddling through the night being sick beat me up even further. I don't know what it is about this leg of the race, but I ended up being sick on the same stretch last year. This year was pretty bad. Not trying to be too graphic, but imagine standing on a sup. Now turn and face perpendicular. Bend down and grab the right side of the board with one hand, and hang your ass over the other side and do your business. Now do it for 3 hours. Sound easy? It's not. It's like holding a yoga pose while peeing out your butt. Not pretty.

 

 

Karen:   

After he woke and went to the bathroom again, he came over to us and asked for some Neosporin.  I squirted some on his finger and he put his hand down the back of his pants and … I will let you figure out where he put the ointment.  Needless to say, I put a big dab of Purell on that finger since he wanted to eat now.  After a decent amount of food, Shane seemed to be doing a lot better.  He set off down the Missouri as we set off for our next goal: Katfish Katy’s.

 

Shane:

     Nothing worse than a raw Heiney. 

One thing I've learned in life is that a man can get by with 2 things: Neosporin and duct tape! In this case, Thanks Neosporin.

 

 

 

Katfish Katy’s, Lupus, MO  Checkpoint 5

 187 miles into the race

 

Shane:

  From Glasgow to Katfish Katy's is a long stretch at 46 miles.  It happened to be at the peak of the heat which was nasty.  Every hour  I had to jump off my board and wet my clothes to make things bearable.

 

   Karen:

The next issue to tackle was the checkpoint, as there was some confusion over this stop.  Was it mile marker 180?  Or further down at 170?  Some documents said one thing, some another.  We decided it was 180, which actually was a good choice.  It was a barren area down a winding road, past the Katfish Katy store down to the river.  The heat was unbelievable.  I really worried about Shane since he was dragging at the last stop.  This was another long leg of the race  (46 miles) and he would arrive right at the peak of the heat, somewhere around 103 degrees. 

 

The waiting continued. .  Dwayne showed up first and decided to stop awhile.   Shane finally came in not too much later in the late afternoon.  I was very pleasantly surprised that he was in pretty darn good shape.  He wolfed down two pulled pork sandwiches and we convinced him to sit in the air-conditioned car for a bit.  He left together with Dwayne, beginning a long stretch of them paddling closely to each other.  Nothing like hanging out with a friend during a tough challenge.  I was glad they had a chance to be together, knowing it would be encouraging to both. 

 

 

Shane:

    This leg of the race will always be the highlight for me.  Dwayne Vanhoose is a guy that I admire dearly.  He is that friend that you want to have who would do anything for you and expect nothing in return.  He's been a mentor for me and has helped me figure out many things in my personal life.  If I have somehting I'm having a hard time with, I give him a call and we talk..
  In 2011,  he was my crew for the mr340.  Alot of the reason why I finished that year was his advice and encouragement throughout the race.

                                                 Dwayne (grey shirt) with his crew Ben Mcnabb
                                                                              at this Year's MR340

     Dwayne paddled an Epic 18' kayak in this race.  He was way faster than I was. As we left Katfish Katy's he hung back with me for 2 hours.  I yelled  at him to paddle his ass off and go. He would tell me, " I never get to hang out with you, now's a good time."  He was making excellent time for his first endurance race, but chose to hold back and just be a friend.  Amazing!  You won't find a more quality person than this man.

 

Karen:
   After they left, Michael and I dawdled a bit, and we decided at the last minute to take a shower at Katfish Katy’s.  

 Next up:  Jefferson City.

 

 

 

Jefferson City, MO       checkpoint 6

 223 miles into the race

 

   We found our own way down to the checkpoint, which was pretty crowded.  Ben (dwayne's crew) found us immediately and said hello.  We went down to the boat ramp, which was lit up with tiki torches. 

                                                          Jeff City Checkpoint at night

 

  Off in the distance, the Capitol building was illuminated in the night. Several of us commented how pretty it looked all lit up like that.

 

I wandered around a bit, as did Michael, killing time during our wait.  We set up a little area on the sand, watching the other boaters come in.  Dwayne came in and headed up to the parking lot where Ben had some Imo’s pizza and toasted ravioli (the St. Louis treat!) ready.  Dwayne didn’t want the ravioli because dipping it was too much work.  We laughed, but I actually understood that.  Shane came in shortly after him, at almost exactly midnight, looking rough again.

 

 

Well, he wasn’t laughing in Jeff City.  He collapsed on our area on the sand and said he wanted to sleep for about 25 minutes.  When we looked at him, he was playing with his phone.  “What are you doing?” we asked.  “I have so many business messages …”  “Put your phone down!”  He obeyed and immediately fell asleep.  When we woke him up, he hesitated getting up.  “I think I need to sleep some more,” he said.  Michael later told me that was the first time he heard that from Shane.  We moved him farther up the beach away from the noise and lights.  He ate a little of the Imo’s that Ben and Dwayne shared with us along with a few other things, then collapsed again.

                                                          Shane Out cold at Jeff city

 

 I got his pillow and horsey out of the car for him.  He could barely lift his head for me to shove the pillow under it.  Another half-hour later, he got up.  Still half-asleep, he left the checkpoint at 1:45am.  This second night of racing was proving far more difficult than the first, for all of us. 

 Shane:
      This was a tough year for this race.  The heat was really sucking it out of me. With temps between 102-106 I was a constant sweat box. I lost alot of fluids through sweating it out.  Every hour or so Jumping in the Missouri river was helpful to wet my clothes and cool off.  I was drinking mass amounts of water and maintaining my electrolyte balance with gatorade powders and camelbak elixir tabs.  It just didn't seem enough ever.  At Jeff city my body needed to shutdown.  Usually I can paddle 24 hours and only need a 20-25 minute nap.  But at Jeff city I woke from my 25 minute nap and could feel that I just wasn't in good enough shape to get back on the board.  Another 30 minutes nap and I felt I could manage it.  So water bladders loaded up and food resupplied I was back on the water and plugging away.  Only 117 miles to the finish, sort of the final stretch.