The race organizators provide a GPX file with the recommended course. It mostly follows the navigational channel. There were some areas on
I finished the K 1/2 O in 2016. This year I was ready to go the full distance.
Starting in the Fall I prepared myself for some half marathon races in the early Spring. I usually participate in the Chilly Halfmarathon in Burlington, ON on the first Sunday in March.
I started paddling this Spring as soon as the Grand River was safe by the end of March. I was on the water for 36 days before the K2O. I paddled The Dam Hespeler Race in April (20km) and the Big East River X Race in May (40km). I also organized and paddled the 3rd edition of the “EPIC Paddle” from Elora Gorge to Paris, ON on the Grand River. This is an open event hosted by our Waterloo Wellington Canoe and Kayak Club of which I’m a member. This covers a distance of about 95 km slow moving downstream. This year it took us about 14 hours from 6am to 8pm.
Then I paddled 65 km in 10 hours overnight from Wilsons Flat to Cambridge, ON to test my night equipment and to learn about myself paddling alone in the dark.
Overall I logged 770 km from March until July.
From experiences in 2016 I knew that I wouldn’t be very hungry during the race. I prepared “energy balls” from a mix of dates, oatmeal and beet root juice. I also had several 150g bars of marsipan, Clif Bars and Lörabars. My wife bought cookies at Starbucks and Apple Fritter at Tim Hortons during the race.
I eat one cookie, the apple fritter, two of the marsipan bars. I forced myself to eat one energy ball at least every 2 hours.
I drank water, coffee, apple juice, coca cola. I have a hydration bladder on the back of my PFD and a 4l MSR Dromedary in the kayak during the long leg to Poonamalie and the Long Reach. Throughout the race I probably drank 1.5l coffee, 1l apple juice, 2 cans of coke, 4-5l water.
I had problems with heartburn. I’ll need to bring Tums or something similar if I’m going to do this again.
For the navigation I relied primarily on the GPS and the Atlas from TrakMap. Navigational Charts from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, #1512 and #1513 are available from certified printer, eg. World of Maps in Ottawa on Wellington St W and Parkdale Ave. Those are helpful in the preparation at home. I looked at them on those long and cold Winter nights.
I downloaded charts for the GPS from OpenStreetMap. I used Garmin Basecamp to create all lock stations as waypoints. I didn’t use directly the GPX track provided by the race organizers. Instead I created a route from the track. To learn more about the differences between tracks and routes visit the Garmin website.
Every racer needs a shore crew. You need the best crew you can assemble. I had the best crew in da world :-). My wife, my brother-in-law and one of my wife’s nephews helped me along the way. I cannot overstate how important those helpers are. They keep your spirits up, the help you with the portages, they replenish your food and drinks and they will be successful with you. You also don’t want to disappoint them! These thoughts help you in your weaks moments.
2016 I paddled the race in my Wilderness System Tempest 170PRO. Back then I noticed how many other racers had EPICs. I decided that if I’d ever come back for the full distance I’d need one too.
I setup an alert on Kijiji. Lo and behold an ad showed up in the Fall of 2016 and I was able to buy a - barely - used boat. I’m now paddling an EPIC 18X Sport model 2012. It’s the same boat in which Freya Hoffmeister cirumnavigated Australia and two thirds of South America. That should be enough for me.
My paddle is an EPIC mid wing full carbon paddle, size 210-220cm from Kayaksport Canada (thank you Dav!). My spare is a Werner Cyprus (220cm) from Adventure Guide in Waterloo.
I’m using the following safety equipment:
My GPS is a Garmin eTrex 20x. I got the sun and moon times from the US Navy.
The lights are Black Diamond Spot and Gemini Duo with 4-cell battery.
I’m using a portaging cart.