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Tags: Active Travel / Maine Travel / Races / Kayak / Canoe / → All Tags
Paddle Yourself Silly This Summer With Canoe And Kayak Championships
We don't know about you, but we've been craving to tackle some whitewater lately and a canoe is as good as anything. In only a couple of weeks, the Whitewater Open Canoe Downriver Championships takes place, and although we're pretty good with paddles, we not quite ready for this level. Nonetheless, things get underway on July 1 and finish up on July 5 in West Forks, Maine on the Lower Dead River. With a name like that, we’ll just be spectators for this one, thank you very much.
For those that prefer a kayak for their water adventures, the Kayak Downriver National Championships will also be heading downriver soon. All races are set along an almost 13-mile course where paddlers will run into about 30 different sets of class II and III rapids. If speed is more your thing, there will be sprint races on July 3. Here, competitors will be trying their best to get through a 1.2-mile course as quickly as possible.
From the details on the races, it sounds like anyone is welcome to register to compete (so long as you can swim), as registration only has to take place one day in advance. However, we’re thinking that this isn’t for those used to a casual paddle around a calm bay or through some wetlands. Officials estimate that the sprint races can be done in only seven minutes, depending on the water level.
Related Stories: [Photo of a different race: penguinchris]
·2009 ACA WWOCD National Championships [Official Site]
·Canoe, Kayak Championships in West Forks, Maine, July 1-5 [MaineBusiness.com]
·Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Races / Bay to Breakers / San Francisco Travel / Partying / → All Tags
Swine Flu, Octomom and the Timeless Birthday Suit Were on Display at Bay to Breakers
Yesterday, runners and partiers alike flooded the streets of San Francisco for the 98th Annual Bay to Breakers 12K Run. The race took place on an unusually hot day for the city but despite the heat, a new race record was set by Kenyan Sammy Kitwara who ran the route from the Embarcadero through Golden Gate Park in 33 minutes and 31 seconds.
Yet the focus of this race is not so much the 30,000 official registrants who actually run the race but rather the thousands of people who dress up in costumes and pull kegs and cases of beer along with them. Predictably, this year the Swine Flu was the most popular costume with hundreds of people sporting pig noses. Our favorite Swine Flu homage was this giant pig on a float which sprayed beer and played dance music.
Some other popular costumes included Octomoms, pirates, ballerinas, Santa Claus, 80s outfits and the always entertaining and totally timeless costumes of...nudity.
While the San Fran police has tried to crack down on the drinking and the nudity, our group happily bounded by the cops carrying beers and the naked man who followed us for a mile, was able to parade in his birthday suit undisturbed by the law.
Related Stories:
· A Race Only San Francisco Could Run [Jaunted]
· Heat, rules can't break Bay to Breakers spirit [Mercury News]
· Bay to Breakers [Official Site]
Tags: Races / Athletic Travel / Bizarre / Sports Travel / → All Tags
A Race Only San Francisco Could Run
Not everybody loves San Francisco's climate, but long-distance runners sure do. With mild, never-too-hot weather (this week's crazy-freak heat wave not withstanding) it's no surprise the Bay Area hosts its fair share of 5Ks, half-marathons and full marathons.
But if we had to pick one footrace to fly to SF for, it would clearly be the Bay to Breakers 12K, coming up this May 17. It's the one that tends to bring out San Francisco's—well, San Francisco side. Among the 70,000 runners, there will surely be some participants dressed up as superheroes, ballerinas, or just a guy or gal in running shoes—and nothing else.
The race cuts a perfect cross-section through SF's most picturesque areas, starting just off the Bay by the Embarcadero and continuing across Hayes Street to Golden Gate Park before finishing along the Pacific, where runners are greeted with "footstock," a post-race concert.
Related Stories:
· Bay to Breakers [Official Site]
· San Francisco travel guide [Jaunted]
· Marathon on the Meditteranean [Jaunted]
[Photo: Inkyhack]
