Quick note here.  It’s been three days since the Phatwater and between Melissa and I, we’ve already logged about 64  hours for next year’s race.  This is a good thing because we can receive grant monies based on the hours of service we provide for our event.  It’s bad news in the sense that I haven’t had a chance to let everyone know where things stand trophy-wise.  So here y’ar.  If you were a first time Sub-V paddler, you will be receiving your Sub-V knife in the mail as soon as we have them.  We only order about 15 each year on the front end, and this year they were handed out to the first 15 or so paddlers who were first year Sub-Vers.  If you did not receive your knife it wasn’t due to an oversight.  Rather, it was because we didn’t have them.  I had instructed our awards staff to provide a “chit” to each Sub-V paddler when they crossed the finish line, but as you can imagine, that sort of thing is near impossible to accomplish in the heat of the moment.  Furthermore, it is equally impossible for our people to track down those due to receive Sub-V knives following the race since few of our volunteer staff know many of you.  There’s probably a better way to do this, and we will examine this in the coming year.  Your suggestions are welcome.

The other thing I wanted to mention is this:   The water level on the Phat is expected to jump 10′ in the next week. Having such additional water at the time of the Phatwater would almost certainly  have shortened our finish times even more, so the potential for breaking three and half hours during some future Phatwater is a reality.  Thus, our new goal will be to break 3.5 hours.  I feel, as do others paddling at the front of the field in Saturday’s race, that this is entirely possible.  As to next year’s cash prize for breaking 3.5 hours, it will certainly be as much as this past year, so everyone, whether solo, tandem, or quad, will have a good shot at picking up the winnings.

Other awards for this year will follow as well.  First place finishers  in all categories will be mailed their trophies.  We attend several other races in which this is the preferred method of awards presentation, and this will be our policy for the foreseeable future.  As our numbers grow this becomes the only practical way to address this issue.  Some may disagree with us, and already I know of at least two who have voiced their objections on the basis of, “I’m tired, I’m hungry and I won my category, and I want my trophy so I can go home.”  I understand this, and my understanding of it is that it amounts to little more than whining by a couple of individuals who feel they are more important than the rest of our paddlers, but it’s the rest of our paddlers that I’m concerned with-paddlers like Jim Hoss, who is a lower leg amputee, and who needs special consideration when exiting his boat, so he can trade his paddle for his crutches and make his way up the ramp to a cold beer and a hot chicken burrito.  Or paddlers like Chris VanMeter, who, in addition to being a Phatwater four year veteran, works tirelessly along with his wife Julie, year around, to assist us in putting the Phatwater together, and who was suffering from hypothermia, though still finished the race with his partner Daniel Sikora, then had to be escorted to a warming room in our Metro Ambulance, on standby for just such occurrances.  To you both, and to all others who ‘won’ the challenge of the Phatwater by simply entering and completing it, I thank you for your support and your patience. To our other athletes, deserving of trophies for your stellar effort, I offer a special thanks for your  patience in waiting for their delivery.

The last thing I want to comment on in this regard concerns the terrific job performed by our  new timekeepers, Allen and Beth Richard and Chris Trippe.  They picked up a ball they’d never handled less than a month ago, and then turned in a sterling effort.They were assisted by a host of others, including Dennis Engle, Kate Eidt, Liz Dantone, and probably a few others I’m not aware of. Thanks to each of you.

More, including photos, to phollow.

KB