City Lights Race 2018
I always look forward to the City Lights Race. It’s a race you can really get your teeth into. It’s a race that can go well or it can go badly. You can feel good at the end of the race or you can feel rotten. It is longer than most races with different water conditions and a short portage. In a long race like this one many things could go wrong. Being two paddlers it doubled the odds. Dead legs, feeling sick, cramp, faulty equipment
etc.
This year there were only 29 teams in the race, two teams paddling K3s, three teams doing the relay, three teams in singles and all the rest in double skis or double kayaks making 66 competitors. Back in 2013 we had 135 competitors.
I had paddled this race every year since it started making it my 12th - twice in an open canoe, once in a 515 plastic double, once in an Avon 3 double kayak, once in a double sea kayak and 7 times in an Epic double Ski.
I was teamed up with Simon O’Sullivan who has very similar speed as me. Our single races over the last two years have always been close and more recently only seconds separate us apart. So in theory if we were to lose because of our fitness we would have no one to blame, and I couldn’t blame Alaine anymore as she wasn't paddling with me.
The pressure to do well this year was more intense than ever before as we had a lot riding on it having been duelling with Mark Sedgwick and Hugh Trivett over the last two weeks. They were paddling the same type of Epic double ski and our other races have been close although they are
winning the series so far and were eager to win this one. Of course we had other ideas but Hugh was that confident I heard that he had put a $1000.00 on the race!
Although we had our sights set on beating Hugh and Mark there were several other teams equally as fast or faster at the
race start so we had our work cut out.
It was going to be another fairly hot day, 32 degrees which is pretty normal for this race. Although it was going to be warm I still decided to wear a thermal top under my PFD. I knew from experience that once we get going and I get wet from Simon’s
paddle I would stay cool and once it gets dark the water spray and wind would stop me from overheating. But the main reason for wearing a thermal though is that I never chaff when I wear a thermal and in a long race like this one that’s pretty important. A thermal doesn’t retain water like some of the paddling shirts which can get soaked and then become like a Coolgardie Safe.
What I eat and drink before the race I find very important. I never bother eating during the race but I have a water bladder in my PFD so I drink water throughout the race, a sip at a time. By eating the right foods before the race I get through the race without needing anything or feeling depleted.
