paddling

10 posts

Raucous Return to Racing

Yes, long overdue post! You certainly don’t have to remind me :-)! It was a long dark winter to [in]ActiveSteve. While I would normally be all over the snowy trails of Gatineau Parc, I spent most of the winter / early spring in full-on rehab mode from my ankle ligament surgery. Whereas my surgeon had mentally prepared me for a 6-month delay before getting back into sports, my physio and hard work paid off, and within 3 months I was back on skis, and working hard at getting back fully to sport. While I’m STILL not at 100%, I AM […]

Climbing the Podium Steps under Cover of Darkness

Have you heard the news?? Eco-Challenge is back! Televised adventure racing at its best! But I digress. This post isn’t about Eco-Challenge. It is, however, a post all about a recent 24-30 hour adventure race that I just took part in, Wilderness Traverse. The linkage is that the whole reason I began adventure racing, and indeed my entire athletic ‘career’ was thanks to watching Eco-Challenge so many years ago. That show opened my eyes to true adventure and challenge in the great outdoors, and I HAD to get into it and experience if for myself. 16 or so years later, […]

Racing for Redemption at Raid Pulse

Greetings friends! So, what does a fellow do when he is 4 weeks between 2 major ultra trail running races?  Why, sign up for, and race in a ‘shorter’ adventure race of course! As the title implies, I was looking for a little redemption after a botched attempt at the earlier Raid Pulse adventure race in May. At that time, I was a little over-confident, and ended up with a major orienteering snafu costing me huge amounts of time. I was determined not to make the same mistake at the shorter 4 hour event this time around. When the race […]

Chasing Checkpoints in Beautiful Lac Ste. Marie

Well, the race season is shaping up quite nicely so far this season. I’m staying busy, but trying hard not to over-commit to racing in order to give myself to properly train for a few key events. However, it’s hard to say no to fun adventure races when I get the chance. With that, I bring you my re-cap of the ever-awesome Raid Pulse adventure race close to home. This early May race is a nice 8 hour duration, and this time, was held and hosted at Mont Ste Marie, a mere 1 hour drive from home. As a bonus, […]

Paddling to the Podium in the City with the Heart of Gold

Kayaking Steve

Welcome to another edition of ‘Where the heck is Steve, and what is he racing in this time?’ Well, the briefest of answers to that question is that I was in Timmins, Ontario racing in the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge, and covering said event for Get Out There Magazine. I have to admit right off the bat that this event was not on my radar earlier this year, and I didn’t really have the intention of making that kind of trip. However, when a cancellation came up, and it was offered up to me, I decided: What the heck? Why not? I like paddling, and I like traveling, so why not combine them together? And so this trip was hatched. Sadly, it would be a solo trip for me this time around, as I was flying up, and Deanna had other plans. I didn’t have time to snap too many pictures, but I did put together a whiz-bang video review once again, so please check it out! The trip was also a pretty much in-and-out kinda trip, so I couldn’t play tourist as much as I’d hoped.