2019 Blackburn Challenge

I was pleasantly surprised when Bob Blair, Race Director of the Blackburn Challenge asked the racers to show hands of the first timers. It seemed like half of the crowd eagerly raised their hands.

I knew a few these folks like Jean Kostelich who I met years ago at the Lighthouse to Lighthouse race. While her second time racing the course, Melissa Meyer would race today for the first time in her surfski and win the Women’s HPK (surfski) class. Beatrice Weinberger paddled her sea kayak around Cape Ann for the first time and won her division by a thirty-minute margin but will be making the switch to a surfski(Zen) for the L2L (East Coast Surfski Champs) in September. I sold all three women their skis and was hoping they would have great races. Mary Beth Gangloff and Robin raced a double for the first time though these women have many Blackburn’s between them.

John Costello (sold John his ski too) who won the SS20 Class in a hard-fought race with John Redos (2^nd) hopefully will be back to defend his first Blackburn and his win.

Ian Black and Ross Poacher both from South Africa on their way to the Gorge, would finish #1 and #2 raced the course for the first time too.

Contrast the 1^st timers with the seasoned veterans, most notably Dana Gaines (#28), Al Pierce (#27), Jay Appleton (#19), myself (#16), Richard Germain (#14) and many others who have multiple Blackburn’s. Some view the Blackburn as a check off for their bucket list.

Many who have done it, simply don’t have the time to commit to the training every year due to other life events. Afterall it is, an endurance race of 19.5 miles. However, this is not the case for many of us. We see it as a goal to strive for every year trying to have a “Good Blackburn” or simply to stave off father time. With goals comes training, lots of training to race the Blackburn. If all goes well you can take pride in that you completed yet another Blackburn and if you had a good race, even better! While I write only about the surfskis, many others obviously put their time in too, like the sea kayaks, multiple outrigger divisions, rowing shells, and more recently the prone, and standup paddleboarders, and other big boat classes.

2:48:54, Rich Klajnscek, Winner Sliding Seat Racing(former Blackburn Race Director)

If you race long enough, some days just don’t go according to plan. I have been training hard with weekly 2-2.45-hour paddles for the past four months combined with other surfski races during this period. I am on the water 4-5 days per week. Training for surfskis is really not that much different from other sports in many regards: intervals, long training sessions, tempo work, active recovery, heart rate monitoring, and for me, I try not to over train since I enjoy paddling so much. You try to get more efficient by a better stroke, get your bucket time in mixed ocean conditions, and finally decide on which ski and the length of you rudder you will us. You try to get a reasonable amount of training before or after your full-time job. Last year I was laid off in February and started another job the following Monday after the Blackburn. So last year’s race, getting all my training needs met in this four-month block, I had one of my easiest Blackburn’s with a time of 2:57:35, 12^th place in my Evo. Deciding on what ski to use is simple for most paddlers since they have only or two skis, not me.

2018, A “Good Blackburn”, 12th, 2:57: 27

Surfski Reviews and Boat Choice

Virtually every two years at this race, I have raced a different ski, Huki’s, Stellars, Thinks. Since 2014 all those skis regardless of brand, have been in the intermediate class simply because most of us, as we age need more stability. Boat fatigue on this course can be severe and punishing. So, I purchased the Fenn Swordfish S from Ocean Paddle Sports East (Jim Hoffman) a few weeks ago after being reminded by a reader 5 months ago claiming I needed to review it. So with the tragic fire of the Fenn manufacturing plant last month, I decided I better get one sooner than later. I was on the fence as to which ski to paddle for this year’s race, my trusty Evo that I raced last year, my Zen (the little boat that could), or the Swordfish. What better test of a ski for my upcoming review than the New England conditions of the Blackburn. So, I chose the Swordfish with my 6-inch DK rudder over the 7-inch Dk rudder or the standard 7.5 inch it came with. With my training plan and boat choice done a week ahead of the race, I was looking forward to having a good race.

2015 Blackburn, “the roughest conditions ever”.

My Race: “Mission Control, We Have a Problem”

The morning of the race, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise at the Oceanic Hotel that overlooks mile 13 of the course. I slept well, had my morning coffee and oatmeal, arrived early at 5:30 at the high school. I got the early paddler parking spot a few feet from the safety checker. I then talked to many friends and paddlers like Richard, Jean, Al, Ray, (too many to name), attended the 7am Captain’s meeting, and on the water by 8am feeling relaxed for the 8:50 start time. My only problem was I forgot the basic starting voice command sequence of my new three day old, Garmin Virb 30. I guess I was not that relaxed after all. So, I got no video this year, darn it.

View from hotel morning of Blackburn at 4:30 am. Thatchers Island in the background.

The race is broken down into sections, the Annisquam, Halibut Point, crossing Sandy Bay, Straitsmouth, and then the critical sections of miles 13-16, the Dog Bar and then the final 2-mile sprint in the Gloucester harbor to the finish.

I lined up in close proximity to Kirk Olsen since in the last race (Ride the Bull) I finished three seconds behind Kirk in my Zen. At my race, the Sakonnet River Race, I edged out Kirk by seconds. Paddling the Blackburn by yourself can be a lonely feat. So on the Annisquam, I quickly found my pack of Tim, Kirk, Ray Fusco(remember the Mayor Cup’s), John Redo(V8) and Francisco(I sold Francisco his boat the first year I worked for Stellar in 2010). We all were in a train with me on the left wash. The pack split at mile two with Ray, John and I opting for a better line to the get out of the current putting a boat length or more on the others. Ray verbally assured me we made the right decision as I got on the stern wash of Ray for the next mile and even John’s wash for a short time. I looked at my heart rate and it was usually low at 147, 148, 151 for these Annisquam miles. Typically, I would have been at 157 to 165 telling myself to bring it down. I thought maybe I am just really rested. While my max heart rate has declined over the years, my overnight resting heart rate has declined also which is what you want. I averaged 41 the night before the race, which means I am rested since it typically is 43-46 depending on my training load. My Garmin also left me a message a week ago, stating my Vo2 Max was a record. While I don’t use this algorithm as a training guide, I thought great, I am in shape and should have a good race.

As we made our way out the Annisquam, I was still with Ray and on several attempts tried to get around Ray to do my share of the pulling, but I just could not do it. Kirk and Tim now were still with us on a slightly different line. At mile 5, similar to last year, I caught a 3-foot boat wake and accelerated on to it leaving Ray to shout “Go Go Go”. I opened a short gap only to be caught by Tim and Kirk again as I slowed to take my first gel. I hopped on Tim’s wash for two minutes which was the agreed upon time to switch. When that time came, I could not return the favor. So, we tried to catch John Costello while Kirk was trailing us slightly.

Ray Fusco, Race Director of the famed NYC Mayor’s Cup(race around Manhattan)

At Halibut point, I was slightly in back of Tim and Kirk feeling pretty good. As we got to Sandy Bay, I begin to fade some, and by the half way point, I was almost done. Yes, done and only half way. I was at an impasse, continue, knowing exactly what lays in store or the pull out. I was feeling spent. It was an odd feeling, one I had not felt before, different from going out to hard, different from be being over trained, different from overheating, different from dehydration, all of which I have incurred before over my long running and paddling career.

So, I veered to the right toward shore one mile away, still paddling trying to make a decision. This indecision went on for another mile as I straightened my course. I began feeling slight better after a gel and hydration. John Costello was close by, so I decided to stick to him and hopefully get through this. That lasted a few miles until I could not keep up. So, I decided to not push it and focus on just finishing. My heart rate for the next 9 miles averaged 141 which is 17 beats slower than what is was last year and at the 9 mile Ride the Bull a few weeks ago. If you are wondering why the focus on heart rate, I train exclusively with one and have for all my racing career. On many Blackburn’s, it has just been me, my Garmin, and self-talk to maintain the pace, by averaging a heart rate of 155-158. This average has naturally gone down over the years since we lose roughly a beat per year off our maximum heart rate. At 59 I am still going very strong but slowing some.

Straitsmouth, Mile 10, not looking good almost DONE!

Once I made the turn to around the Dog Bar, I was relieved to say the least. I looked at my Garmin and it read happily 2:50. I perked up some asking myself if I could I still pull off a sub 3-hour race. That irrational thought lasted all of seconds but nevertheless I thought my time was not that bad considering how I felt for the past 10 miles. Struggling for two more miles against the current with a few boat wakes is something I can do. Now with some momentum, I paddled on for a half mile to see Francisco gaining on me from my far right and then with a mile to go, I see Dana closing strong. I managed to outpace them only to negotiate the final half mile with an OC6. I told them not to run me over and that they needed to veer right toward the finish buoys, they politely said okay as we sprinted to the finish only yards apart with me finishing in 3:08:35, for 15^th place.

This was my slowest time in a surfski and my second slowest in the 16 years I have completed. I just fact checked my times and I stand corrected with 16 Blackburn’s not 17. My slowest time was the first year in 2003 in my Seda Glider sea kayak (3:28:10). My goal has always been to finish in the top 10 or finish under 3 hours. Over these many years I have been in the range of 2:49:55 (my best time, 2011) to 3:08 35(this years’ time) with 6 of 16 posting under 3 hours including last year’s race at 2:57:32. These stats are really are for me since I was curious about my times after all these years.

Reflecting back on this race, I don’t think I ate enough calories the week before, so I essentially bonked at mile 11 but was able to finish reasonably well due to all my training and experience. Just another lesson learned for endurance paddling.

Thanks to all the Cape Ann Rowing Club volunteers and race committee members to put on the 33rd Blackburn Challenge. Also thanks to Leslie Chappell of http://chappellstudio.com/ and Glen Fine and my amazing wife of 32 years Betsy Echols for all their wonderful pictures. It takes some time to take this many photos, download them, upload them, edit them, post them so we can all relive the Glory of the Blackburn Challenge.

My Blackburn Facebook Post about the race.

Another year, another Blackburn for many us. There were many first timers by a show of hands when asked by Race Director, Bob Blair. This was my 16 consecutive one, albeit not my most enjoyable until it was over! Dana Gaines completed his 28th, Richard Germain (5x Molokai finisher) completed his 14. So together we have 59 years of experience. I talked to Al Pierce who has 27 years of Blackburn’s on his paddle and Jay Appleton has his 19th(?)

If you completed the course, you are worthy of a BIG congratulations! I love the individual race stories within the race. Many I will never know but here is a shout out to a few I do know. Local North Shore paddler, Greg Lesher, took the #3 spot with a personal record of 2.42.39. His North Shore training partners, Matt Drayer #7th, and Janda Ricci-Munn #8 had excellent times. Melissa Meyer won her division in her 1st Blackburn in a surfski, last year she was in her sea kayak. Jean Kostelich won her division (SS20 Surfski Class) in her 1st Blackburn.

Matt(7th), Greg(3rd), Janda(8th) These boys know a thing or two about paddling and training! Great job guys!

Greg pushing hard to the finish like to take 3rd.

My first half race pack of Tim Dwyer, Kirk Olsen, and Ray Fusco proved their salt as did Kurt Hadem. I enjoyed watching my second half pack unfold over the 19.5-mile course of John Costello, John Redos, and Dana Gaines and Francisco Urena.

Elite South African paddler Ian Black took the top spot with a time of 2.31.29 on his way to the Gorge and Durban paddler Ross Poacher on limited rest due to travels took second. Eric Costanzo and Bruce Poacher took 1st in the tandem surfski by a large margin in 2.35.43. Quite a few doubles in this year’s and great to see those guys, Jim/Steve, Ed/Bruce, Sean/Rob, Marybeth/Robin, Andrius/Max. More to come on SurfskiRacing.com and from others with pictures and stories: Melissa and Greg. Big Thanks to Bob Blair, Susanne, Donna, David, Chris, and all the volunteers who put these races together for all of us to enjoy!! We will be back! Result below.