Texas River Marathon

Yesterday we ran the Texas River Marathon. It's the preliminary race before the Texas Water Safari, and it determines pole position amongst the more serious racers. Team Cuatro Sinko, of course, ran it because it was a chance to get out, get some more paddle time in, and scout 40 miles of the race course. We did great, and were shooting rapids like champs. It took us just over 9 hours, averaging 4.4 mph overall, including break time and a 20 minute debacle in which we got caught up in a log jam.

It was my turn at the helm, and as we approached a chute through the logs, we noticed an abandoned Alumicraft canoe pinned by the current to fallen trees - a clear warning sign that the river wasn't messing around. It looked like it had been there a while. Determined to steer us straight through the chute, I squared us up and felt pretty good. What I could not see over the heads in front of me, however, was a smaller stump sticking out just above the water. We hit it, went sideways, and the four of us went overboard in an instant. The canoe was quickly swept into the logs, and pinned by the current with the inside of the canoe facing up river; it was a cup with water continuously spilling in. We assessed. It looked bleak. Flashes of losing this new boat went through our minds. Muscle alone was never going to move the boat away from those logs. We unclipped all the gear and took it ashore, fighting the current to and from the jam. Nothing was missing but one very expensive paddle. We wriggled and shoved. I thought. I got us into this, I had to get us out. I directed the team to all stand with our back to the current, towards the middle of the boat - the place with the most leverage. On three we all lifted the bottom gunwale up, so that the boat was level (although still below the water line) and no longer like a cup facing the current. We continued to lift and rolled the boat up onto the logs, emptying the water and revealing the lost paddle. The boat saved and still intact, no one hurt, and no gear lost, we all cheered and sighed in relief. One more lesson learned from the river.


The pics: 3 of the 4 Cuatro Sinko Team making the checkpoint 50 minutes before cutoff, averaging 5.2 mph, and feeling pretty cocky (before the log jam); Flip, our team captain from the shore, enjoying "the best beef rib [he'd] ever had" at Black's BBQ in Lockhart after the race.