 |
| About The Current World Record: (From Paddler Magazine, 1998) New 24-hour Kayak Endurance Record Set Paddlers taking advantage of the Big Sur surf wave on the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colo., last spring saw one kayaker whip by without even taking a second glance at the rarely seen wave. The paddler in question was ultra- endurance multisport champion Ian Adamson of Denver, who broke the world distance record for paddling a kayak over a 24-hour period on June 8, 1997. "There were more than 50 people surfing at Big Sur when I paddled by," says Adamson. "But I didn't have time to stop." According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the former record of paddling 253 kilometers in a 24-hour period was set on Poland's Vistula River in 1987. By paddling the Colorado from just below Kremmling, Colo., to the Big Bend area of Utah--traveling through Glenwood Canyon, Grand Junction and on past the state line--Adamson set a new record of 327 kilometers, crushing the previous record by more than 50 miles. "I was pretty wrinkly by the end of it all," says Adamson, who was on winning teams in New Zealand's Southern Traverse race and British Columbia's Eco-Challenge in 1996. Although Adamson had to portage his Prijon Downriver Racer on a couple of sections, including a dam in Glenwood Canyon and the Westwater Canyon section of the Colorado in Utah, the miles he portaged were not included in the final tally. To make sure he adhered to record requirements, Ted Burnell, president of the Colorado Canoe and Kayak Racing Association, was on hand every step of the way. "I believe I fulfilled all my requirements from Guinness and am now just waiting to hear back from them," says Adamson, at former marathon canoeist from Sydney, Australia. Adamson adds that he never once had to roll during his record-setting performance--except at the very end when, after 24 hours, he twirled his paddled over his head in celebration and promptly tipped over. "That made me lose my lucky hat," he says, "but by that stage I think I had enough luck already." As for anyone wishing to better his feat, don't look for him to roll over and give up his claim to fame. "If someone out there beats me," he says, "I know I can do more. I think I could do 260 miles next time." (END) Ian followed this up in 1998 on the Yukon River in Canada's Yukon Territory by paddling a distance of 349 kilometers in a 24 hour period! |
| 2003Endurance Kayaking World Record Attempt: |
| Hi, I'm Joe O'Blenis and during the late Summer of 2003 I plan to make an attempt on the World Record for "Distance Paddled In 24 Hours". See below for more information on the current world record, held by multi-time Eco Challenge winner Ian Adamson. I intend to make my record attemt in late August on the Peace River running through northern British Columbia and Alberta Canada. I will be paddling a carbon fiber/ kevlar Necky Looksha II Race provided by Necky Kayaks. This page will be updated on a regular basis over the coming weeks. Check back often. Happy Paddling....Joe O' |
| Sunday June 22, 2003: Yesterday's workout consisted of a good long paddle, half being upriver against the current, the other half downriver back to my put-in. The weather was relatively cool with a few showers throughout the day and thunder and lightning showers & high winds late in the day. The total distance for the workout, including against the current, was around 80 kilometers. I'm taking today off from the water, instead working on my new Jamis mountain bike, installing a few XTR parts as well as tuning up my old Gary Fisher for my friend Margie who'll be picking it up from me tomorrow. |
| NEWS: July 1,2003 The current World Record holder, Ian Adamson is also gearing up for another record attempt, looking to further improve upon his 1998 record of 349 kilometers. Ian will again be paddling on the yukon River, roughly 1 week before my attempt. Nothing like a good friendly rivalry! |
| Tuesday July 8th, 2003: Training has been going well, I recently went on a 5 day paddling trip in Wells Gray, paddling roughly 5-7 hours a day on Clearwater and Azure Lakes. The change of scenery was a welcome change, these lakes are truly beautiful, surounded by snow capped mountain peaks and glacierly fed....a bit cold for rolling practice but I can't complain! This morning I'm heading out shortly for a workout of between 8-12 hours which will consist of 50% upriver paddling, the rest back downriver. Tuesday's paddle ended up being in the area of 10 hours in total and I had a strong headwind on the return half of the paddle. The morning was pretty calm with the winds picking up substantially in the afternoon along the way back. The weather was perfect and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable days of kayaking I've had since moving to BC from New Brunswick with some fair size wind driven waves refracting off the cliffs along the way back and some confused sections of water with incoming waves from 2 or more directions colliding at once.....nothing but fun! |
| July 17th, 2003 Training in the Kamloops area is going well, knocked off a 13 hour effort over a 20 hour period last weekend and was feeling great! Starting to throw in a bit more speed work as I consider racing in next weekends Canadian National Canoe & Kayak Marathon Championships which would be roughly a 2 hour race at a very high pace. Tuesday was just over a 4 hour workout with local marathon racer, Darryl Spencer and was also done at a higher pace than usual, speed work last night on the rivers paddling some sections of the Nationals course. I'm considering racing the Looksha II directly against the ICF sprint boats, certainly the Looksha II would not be in its chosen environment but I'd be looking at it as more of a fast training race. The other option is to race my old Necky DR kayak. We'll see! |
| Thursday July 31, 2003: Tomorrow night I leave for the Peace River for a practice run down the river and to scout out any obstacles and check out the current of the river. 3 weeks later I'll be back on the river to make my attempt on the 24 hour World Record, currently held by Ian Adamson. More details to be posted next week. During training on the Peace River, while scouting the numerous river channles divided by the many islands, I averaged 13 kph with the river running at roughly 450 CMS (cubic meters per second). When making the record attempt, the flow will be roughly 750-1200+ CMS! The Peace is damn controlled at the upper end and I was paddling on along weekend with much lower flow levels. That being said, things look good for a record when I return shortly, around the 28th of August for the World Record Attempt. |
| Sunday August 10th, 2003: Two and a half weeks to go before the record attempt on the Peace River! This weekend I did workout in thr Kamloops BC area totalling about 15 hours over a 24 hour period with a mixture of downriver, upriver and lake paddling. Headwinds about 75% of the time....Grrrrrrrr.... In between the two parts of the orkout, I camped on Kamloops Lake with a lightweight tent and had a late supper of pasta on a beach under the stars before crashing for a few hours sleep. This coming week I'll do a few shorter, faster workouts before doing one more long paddle next weekend. After that, time to taper before going for Ian's World Record on the 28th of August! The Looksha II from Necky Kayaks is working great and is by FAR the fastest sea kayak i've ever paddled! The carbon fiber paddle form Boreal Design is working out well, it is soooo light! I also received my new Aquila Polarized sunglasses from Julbo ( www.julbo.fr) the other day and thety are great...specially designed for watersports, there is far less glare on the water when paddling into a setting sun than anything I've ever tried before....Thanks to Julbo and to Tom Jones! My new paddling booties form Whites are alos working out well, the "Roc Boot" from Whites is super comfy and have been keeping my feet pretty happy during the long hours in the boat. |
| Moonstone Equipment |
| Valhalla Pure Outfitters |
| Whites Paddle Sports |
| Julbo Sunglasses |
| Boreal Design |
| Necky Kayaks |
| Event Sponsors: |
| 2003 News: |
| Race Training in the Necky Looksha II |
 |
 |