Paddlers: Amanda Nelson, Leelee & Matt Lentz, Jason Lentz

Race Website: http://www.flyservers.com/members5/alafiachallenge.com/index.html
Race Results: http://www.flyservers.com/members5/alafiachallenge.com/index04resultsCatPl.html

When leelee first approached me about doing a kayak race that was 11 miles long- I thought she was crazy. But the more I daydreamed and read up on it, I thought it was worth a try. I didn't know much about the Alafia (pronounced al-a-FYE) except that it was near Riverview and it was a long river. When I found out that most of my family was participating, I thought I would give it a try.
Friday night, we all gathered together to load up. Leelee and I took a trip out to K-Mart to buy a cheap watch to keep our time, because real Islanders don't wear watches. The point of the race is to cross the finish line earlier than everyone else in your "group". I was in the Junior Kayak division which was made up of 5 other 16-19 year olds. Leelee was in the Women's kayaking division with numerous other ladies, and Dick and Jay were in the Men's Kayaking division, with 15-20 men. Leelee and Dick picked Mom and I up at around 6 in the morning saturday. Now, I don't know about any of you- but I HATE getting up early on my day to sleep in.
We stopped by Jay's to drop off dick and follow them to the Alafia River set-in spot. It took about 45 minutes to get to the spot, which was very crowded already. When we stepped out of the car it was about 74 degrees, which is cold for Florida. We walked down to the check-in spot where we got our numbers and our free stuff. We slapped the stickers on our kayaks, waved bye to mom and set off in the long line to wait for our numbers to be called.
I was 808- so I was first. Jay was 912 and Dick was 913, so they were next. Leelee was 1012, and she was final. They set off little cannons or flares when each race started, so everyone was startled each time a new heat began. All in all there were 60 heats- that means about 300 people were on the river that day. There were signs all over the river warning not to swim in or drink the water because It was polluted. The entrance fee for the race that we payed would go straight to the clean-up of the river.
My 11- mile run down the river was exhausting. Even though my heat was first, Dick, Jay and Leelee passed me. Shows how fast I was. I paddled the whole time, never taking a break, But only got 4th place in my division. Leelee got 6th, Dick got 11th, Jay got 13th. It was a great race day.

Amanda Nelson

Last Modified: February 11, 2003 10:29 PM