The ninth annual Bluz Cruz Marathon: a record-breaking performance, but not by me

Well, we had another successful Bluz Cruz Marathon canoe and kayak race on the Mississippi River at Vicksburg today.  It was great to see friends both old and new.  My Training Blog By Elmore extends its deepest gratitude to the race organizers and all the volunteers who made the event possible.

Up at the start, at a place on the Louisiana side of the river called Madison Parish Port, it was clear that the river was up (today's Vicksburg gauge reading was 38 feet).  And once the race got started, it was clear that the wind would be a factor.  It was largely a beam wind coming from our right, and it had me doing all kinds of little gymnastic moves to keep the boat balanced and moving forward.

The conditions kept my attention and consumed my energy the entire way down.  At one point about midway through I very nearly flipped during a half-second lapse in concentration.  Nevertheless, as I neared the mouth of the Yazoo River, up which I would paddle the last mile or so to the finish, I saw that I had a shot at bettering the course-record time I set two years ago.  With the wind finally at my back on the Yazoo, I paddled as hard and efficiently as I could... and I just missed the record with my time of one hour, 56 minutes, 49 seconds--fifteen seconds slower than the 1:56:34 I clocked two years ago.

But it's silly to get too upset over it.  For one thing, I doubt the starting line and finish line are in precisely the same locations year in and year out, and for another, I'm pretty sure the wind conditions were more challenging this year than they were two years ago.  This actually might be the best I've ever done in this race.

And it wouldn't have really mattered if I had beaten the course record anyway, for the record was obliterated by Mr. Mike Herbert, who was participating in this race for the first time.  Herbert, a three-time Olympian and a three-time medalist at the world championships of flatwater sprint kayaking, came in today under one hour and 52 minutes.  I took second, about five minutes back.  It was the first time in five tries that I had failed to win the Bluz Cruz race, but anybody who is disappointed over a loss to Mike Herbert is either very, very good or very, very full of himself.

No disappointment here... just elation from having competed well.  You can see it on my face in this photo that Joe took of me afterward: