ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships 2009, Crestuma, Portugal

This past weekend I flew to Porto, Portugal to watch the International Canoe Federation's (ICF) Canoe Marathon World Championships in the nearby little village of Crestuma.

I went to watch my friend Ian Mackenzie compete. During my last number of years paddling in Victoria, Ian has been our community's speediest paddler and, so far as I know, the only Victorian competing in Olympic-calibre world championship paddling events (marathon paddling is not an Olympic event). I resist saying "I paddled with Ian" because I see him only for a few strokes at the start line of our local races.

I also went to see this mysterious form of paddling he does. The marathon format is rare in Canada, where sprint is the main flatwater format. In Europe, top kayak and canoe paddlers compete in both formats. ICF marathon racing uses the same kayaks (K1 and K2) and canoes (C1 and C2) we see in the Olympic sprints, with minor adjustments such as lighter weight, handles for portages and pump for jettisoning water.

The marathon events run for approximately the same time as would a running marathon and usually comprise several laps on a river, canal or lake with a portage every lap. This year the race involved seven laps of 4.3km on a tidal river for a total of 30.1km. The medallists completed the course in under 2h10.

Since 2005, Ian has travelled to Europe 2-3 times per year to compete in a couple of the World Cup events, followed by the World Championships at the end of the summer. He trains like a crazy person - I think up to 3 times and six hours per day. And he funds all of his trips on his own - a one-man national team in his category.

Ian competes in the senior men's category - the premier division. I believe his top results were third in a World Cup event and sixth in the 2007 World Championships.

IAN'S RACE

The senior men's race had 37 entries, from which Ian drew the outer starting position nearest the beach (good for photos). He said he tries to expend only as much effort in the start as he needs to find a speedy group and hop on their wash, then begin slowly working his way up the field. In that respect he had an ideal start.

The following photos show him missing the first stroke, allowing the nearby paddlers to charge ahead, but then quickly catching up on their wash. The angle of the photos show him behind, but he was actually mid-pack, as you can see when I pan out in the later photos:

That's Ian on the far right. For reference, the eventual gold medallist is 4-5 boats over in the red shirt, approximately even with Ian.

I had expected to pay more attention to the paddling at the race, but the portage draws 99% of the attention. It is the Nascar effect: stuff happens during the paddling, but the potential for disaster is much higher in the portage.

These racing boats are extremely tippy - I find staying dry in them a big enough challenge - but these guys motor into the dock at top speed in small packs, bump, grind, hop out of the boat, run and jump back in on the other side. It is amazing there is not more swimming.

Because the portage is so technical, it can separate two otherwise equal paddlers. And Ian is a specialist in the portage, regularly making ground on nearby paddlers. I am perhaps a bit biased, but it is not even a question of speed: Ian seems to have the most advanced entry and exit technique of any of the paddlers. Indeed in the crowd I heard several times: "That's Ian Mackenzie - he's very good in the portages." Below are some photos to illustrate.

The first set shows a standard technique as demonstrated by the eventual gold medallist Manuel Busto from Spain.

Notice that he coasts, braces and then grabs the dock before beginning to exit the boat..

Now Ian's technique (2nd lap):
Here is another sequence, this one from the 3rd lap. It shows Ian approaching the dock a boat length behind an Australian paddler, completing a risky exit (it looks as if a bump would send him into the water) and within ten seconds he has erased the deficit and taken boat length lead. He never saw that Aussie again.

Ian also practices a daredevil entry. But the beach in Crestuma was a bit steep, meaning he had to apply the brakes a bit when entering the water. He said on a flatter beach he could hit the water, sling the boat and step in all at a full stride. Here is Ian's entry after the sixth portage:

When I asked Ian why the remainder of the field does not copy his exit and entry technique, or why they have not come up with it on their own, he said in general they find it too risky. Without the huge amount of practice required to perfect it, there is the chance that a mistake will result in a race-ending swim or broken boat.

On the final lap, Ian illustrated the risk, momentarily botching his entry. Here the slip-up and the smile afterwards:

That allowed the guy he was near to open a gap out of the portage that Ian could not overcome. At that point of the race everyone is drained, so mistakes are far more common (see below), and even if Ian had held on and then passed the guy, it was only small difference in placement.

Ian finished 15th in 2h14, approximately five minutes behind the gold. He was satisfied with the result, with just some minor "what ifs."

From my perspective on the beach, the front three groups held such a high speed throughout (the top time was apparently two minutes faster than last year) that Ian would have had to abandon his patient strategy and expend a huge, sustained amount of energy over the first few laps to stay near the front, and then hope that he would not blow up before the end. In a year where the pace of the front group was lower, I think his strategy in this race would have allowed him claw forward to the third or even second group by the end of the race.

Here he is crossing the finish line, then smiling to himself.
THE REST OF THE FIELD

The announcers were talking this up as the most competitive field in years. All of the world champions since 2000 were in the field, including Manuel Busto (2000-02, 2004-05) and Emilio Merchand (2007-08) of Spain, who between them won seven of the previous eight events.

A South African named Jenkins jumped out to do most of the pulling for the front pack for the first couple of laps, but he did not last. Here he is leading:

And later showing his fatigue:

Incidentally, one of the Canadian juniors, Alex Bogorin of Mississauga, lost his K2 partner to illness, so entered the mens event to get a race out of his trip. You can see him behind Jenkins in the above photo (unfortunately being lapped).

After the third or fourth lap, the front group remained together until the final sprint to the finish. They held a blistering pace throughout. In other events, especially the mens K2, the lead groups seemed to cruise for long periods, conserving energy. But in the mens K1 event, at least to my untrained eyes, they seemed to be blasting for a large part of the race. Here they are charging down the beach during the sixth portage:

The front dude is Emilio Merchand, an intimidating guy. He seemed to be most in charge throughout the race, staying with the front group but refusing to do much of the pulling. Except as they approached each portage, when he bashed the other boats around and bullied his way to the front of the running pack to give himself a buffer, as he was not as quick as the others entering his boat. He seemed well prepared to blast everyone in the finish until he botched his last entry and surely cost himself a medal, if not the gold. Here is his reaction:

Ben Brown from the UK was also among the top group throughout. I think he is quite young but has been near the top of the heap for a few years and won silver this year.

Another young guy was Shaun Rubenstein of South Africa. He has also been at the top for a few years, winning the event in 2006 and placing fourth this year.

Another in the front group was Jose Ramalho of Portugal. I do not know his pedigree, but he definitely looked the underdog. He drew deafening cheers from the hometown crowd as he moved from the second group to the first midway through the race. He then went for broke in the last portage, sprinting to try and open a gap, as he certainly knew that the other dudes in the front group could outsprint him. Two of them did catch him, but he held off the South African for bronze.
With these young guys was Manuel Busto of Spain. I heard he is 44. Look at him - what a beast:

Here he is keeping the runaway Portuguese in range after the last portage.

After the last turn he matched a sprint by Ben Brown and pulled away comfotably before the line, looking extremely strong. His time was 2h08.

Here are the full results: https://secretaria.fpcanoagem.pt/marathon2009/Detalhe.aspx?id=12

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

The ICF marathon rules allow for a teammate to assist the paddlers in a "pit" lane as they negotiate the portage. These teammates throw fresh juice pouches around the paddlers' necks or in the boat and help with any needed repairs. I found it to be the most amusing part of the race, as the helpers tried to get in close to help without jostling their tired teammates. This pair was especially amusing: