We've had lovely, not-so-humid weather here in the Memphis area for the last couple of days. The heat and humidity are supposed to be creeping back upward over this weekend, but this morning it was hard to ask for lovelier conditions for a 5000-meter race down the Mississippi River. There was plenty of sunshine, but a mild west-northwest breeze was keeping things cool.
A couple of hundred registrants assembled at the mouth of the Wolf River for the 38th Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, and after a few instructions from director Joe Royer and a blessing from chaplain Dr. Scott Morris, they got in their boats and positioned themselves in the traditional starting area beneath the power lines.
I was feeling butterflies aplenty as I awaited the starting gun. I think most athletes feel some version of nervousness in the moments before competition begins, no matter how experienced they are. There's the anticipation of of the strenuous effort the race will demand, the hope that you will execute all the things well that you've been practicing, even some fear of possibly not performing as well as you think you should.
I didn't have my best start ever. Four or five boats shot into the lead ahead of me, and the butterflies in my arms that usually disappear once the race is underway persisted for a tense few minutes as I fought my way into some sort of contention.
Three-time Olympian, three-time world championships medalist, and Pan Am Games champion Mike Herbert of Rogers, Arkansas, quickly opened a solid gap on the rest of the field. Nobody was surprised to see that. A chase pack formed consisting of Christian Massow of Cypress, Texas; Andy Capel of Maumelle, Arkansas; and Adam Davis of Memphis. I sat a couple of boatlengths behind these guys, trying to settle my nerves and get down to business. I think I was even talking to myself: "Come on, man. The race has started. Stop being such a head case and just paddle!"
We entrants in the race-boat class were all in surf skis except for Christian, a lifelong sprint racer, who'd opted for a flatwater K1. Even though the Mississippi was about as smooth as it ever gets, I could see that the swirly currents were giving Christian some trouble with his balance. He'd had a good fast start out of the Wolf, but now he was having to throw down some braces as he dropped back onto Adam's stern wake and did his best to maintain contact with the pack.
I decided to move to the right a bit where the water was undisturbed by the churning paddles. I began to settle into a fast but comfortable rhythm at last, and over the next few minutes I inched my way up into second place. I didn't have my G.P.S. device in the boat with me, but with the river registering 28.1 feet on the Memphis gauge, I knew we were getting plenty of help from the current. I clocked about a 10:22 split at the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, the fastest I can ever remember.
Up front Mike had taken longer than usual to build his lead; for the first third of the race I don't think he was more than maybe 20 seconds ahead of me. Maybe he was having the same trouble finding his rhythm that I was. But eventually he began to pull away, and probably had more than a minute on me as he approached the entrance to the harbor. It certainly was a comfortable enough lead for him to take a safe, conservative line around the southern tip of Mud Island, where there were some patches of very shallow water at the current river level.
By the time I reached the bridge I'd moved far enough ahead of my pursuers that I couldn't see anyone in my peripheral vision. I told myself to keep paddling hard. My lousy sprint workouts in recent weeks had shaken my confidence a bit, but I reminded myself that I'd raced well in races of 8 miles or less in March and April and that there was no reason I wouldn't stay strong all the way to the finish today.
I got to the harbor entrance and took a tighter line around the tip of Mud Island than Mike had. I'd scouted the area yesterday and was confident I'd found a good clear path. I hit the bottom with my paddle one time but otherwise had no trouble. As I turned up into the harbor I stole a glance over my left shoulder and saw two boats not far back. I wondered if one of them was Christian. Christian is the reigning Masters national champion in the 200-, 500-, and 1000-meter sprints, and if he was anywhere in striking distance he would be able to zoom right past me in the flatwater of the harbor. And even if Christian wasn't nearby, the boats I'd seen at the turn looked a little too close for comfort. I would have to lay down the best finishing sprint I could muster to preserve my second-place position.
The finish buoys taunted me as I strove to reduce the distance between them and me to zero. Those agonizing sprint workouts were on my mind as I pressed on, but no other boats appeared to my left or right and I became ever more confident that second place--my best finish ever in this race--was all mine. Mike had claimed first place with a time of 15 minutes, 57 seconds, and I pushed myself across the line just 40 seconds later--the closest to Mike I've ever finished in this race. My tighter line at the harbor entrance paid off, at least in a moral-victory sort of way.
I maneuvered my boat around and learned the identities of the two paddlers I'd seen back at the harbor entrance. Andy Capel took third place in 16:54, and Adam Davis gave us a second Memphian in the top four with a time of 17:09. Joseph DiChiacchio of Rising Fawn, Georgia, rounded out the top five in 17:23. Christian Massow had indeed struggled out on the big river and had to settle for sixth place in 17:46. If this had been entirely a flatwater race I think Christian would have made a good run at Mike.
Mike's daughter Savanna Herbert was the top female finisher, clocking 18:58. She'd emerged from a thrilling duel with the race's top tandem kayak paddled by Carol Lee and Joe Royer. Myrlene Marsa of Rising Fawn, Georgia, was Savanna's nearest solo female competitor, finishing 54 seconds back. The complete results are posted as follows:
Solo kayak results
Tandem kayak results
Solo canoe results
Tandem canoe results
Standup paddleboard results
We all congratulated one another and made our way up the grassy bank to the post-race festivities in River Garden Park. It was great to have canoe and kayak racing back here in Memphis, Tennessee.
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