4. What was your biggest learning in terms of kit and equipment? JH: Practice in the kit combinations you might have to paddle in on the day. On the lead up to the event I fell into the trap of going out for shorter paddles (10-15km) with just a small camelback, no food and comfortable clothing for the summer conditions. It meant that come race day when the water was 4-5 degrees I was not prepared for the decisions in terms of combinations of layers but also had my food in my bag on the front of the board rather than easily/quickly accessible in chest pockets. Mixing and matching the kit you’ll wear on event day removes pre-start uncertainty whilst easy access to food means you’re not over doing it straight out of the blocks.
The water is black and you suddenly feel very small. Knowing I had the speed and stability allowed me to put the power down even when my legs were tired, arms were burning, and back was cramping was a big help. If I had been on a narrower board I think I would have spent more time in the water wasting energy and not feeling comfortable. Of course, the other major benefit is that it is inflatable which not only made it easy to travel up to the event by air, it was also super easy to exit/enter the water at portages without the worry of damaging the board – especially when your arms are jelly.
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