DC Advice?
The DC Dragon Boat Festival has a special place in Paddlefish history -- it was the team's first non-Pittsburgh race, waaay back in 2004. Check out the team photo from DC that year:
Now that the 2007 DC Festival is less than 10 days away, I'm seeking advice from any Paddlefish who have been to this festival before.* We now know that the boats are much heavier than ours. Anything else we should know before we get there? General advice for travel races would be great, too, it doesn't have to be DC-specific.
Post any tips here as comments! Your pearls o' wisdom are greatly appreciated.
*In the interest of full disclosure: this post is selfishly motivated -- DC will be my first travel race, and I need all the help I can get!
posted by Sarah at 5/09/2007 09:25:00 PM
3 Comments:
Yowza -- sort of a scary picture, that one!
* Let's see......Well, there's a long line of porta-potties, but there's actually a real bathroom in the boathouse, and it's worth the walk to use it instead of the porta-potties!
* The boats have a metal bar separating you from your benchmate, so if you're used to synching up through proximity, that's a little bit of an adjustment.
* The dock is HOT. I like to paddle in bare feet, but learned at DC that I have to at least wear flipflops till we get in the boat. (Kate was kind enough to let me balance on one of her flipflops while were lined up that year.)
* The water can be a little squirrelly. Nothing the strong Pfish women can't handle!
* Get used to waiting around. Good time to practice all that Pilates breathing.
* People are soooo nice and the whole spirit of the event is very positive. You're going to have a wonderful time!
There were toilet paper shortages at the festival lastlast time. I hope it doesnt happen again.
Bring lots of snacks that will keep you energized and ready to race. Its not like the Pittsburgh festival where there is food right there.
Keep a cell phone with you if you decide to walk around the site. Things can change quickly and as we learned from previous experience, you wouldnt want to miss your race!
The weather report does not look great, think about bringing a tarp and rain gear.
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