Race Report: Carolina Cup 2022
On Wednesday April 27th our Starboard SUP North American team left in the middle of the night to drive to Wrightsville Beach North Carolina. From Canada it was about a twelve and a half hour drive. I slept for most of the way. When I woke up, all I could see was greenery along the highway. I rolled my window down and breathed in the salt air. My heart began to beat faster as I knew we were approaching our destination. The closer we got, the more we talked about what the ocean would be like and what the conditions might look like for the world-renowned graveyard elite 13.2 mile race. We arrived just after 9am in Wrightsville. We pulled up to the Blockade Runner Beach resort waiting for our airbnb cottage to become available. My friend Kirsty and I had gone inside the hotel to freshen up after our long drive. When we walked back to the truck we were greeted by Starboard Dream Team members Noic Garioud, and Michael Booth. They invited us to hang out at their cottage while we waited for our place to become available. We talked about the harsh Canadian winter that had just passed, and how we were all excited to race in the ocean. Shortly after we were able to unpack our gear at our Airbnb and go for a nice warm up paddle in the ocean.
On Friday April 29th, my friend Kirsty and I practiced a few beach starts on the ocean side of the Blockade Runner Beach resort. The conditions were rough but we knew we had to try to get a warm up paddle in because we assumed the next day would look exactly the same. Since we mostly train on the Great Lakes in Canada, we knew the ocean was going to look and feel different. We had fun sprinting out into the ocean and then surfing our boards in. For the rest of the day we recovered and prepped for our big race.We ate good food, meditated, did some yoga, went swimming, and relaxed as much as we could in order to feel strong for Saturday. After dinner we talked some race strategy about the course and which way the race directors might send us based on the tides, wind, and swell. We looked over the course map, made notes, and checked every possible forecasting app that we could.
On Saturday April 30th I woke up super calm and relaxed, even though I knew that one of the hardest races of my life was ahead of me. I kept breathing deeply and telling myself kind words. I had a rough winter and knew that my training wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be at this point in the year, however I did all that I could to get to where I was. I was ready to take on the graveyard race. Kirsty and I walked down to the start line together where all of the athletes were already starting to warm up and line up their boards. I stretched, did a quick jog on the beach, and wished my competitors luck as we stared at the calm ocean ahead of us. Before I knew it all of us were lining up and holding our boards ready to run into the ocean.
The horn blew and I sprinted towards the water as fast as I could. I jumped on my board, took a few strokes, and almost immediately fell in. This was not the start I was hoping for! The clashing of boards and the wake totally sent me flying over the rails of my board. I climbed back on and kept pushing ahead. We rounded the first buoy and I immediately counted my position in the pack. I was currently tied for tenth place with three females around me. I began to find my pace and looked for small bumps as we raced towards Mason's Inlet. I passed the two girls beside me while I caught the very tiny SE bumps rolling in. As I approached Mason's Inlet, I could see some 1ft waves rolling in. I picked a line that I thought was good, and began to surf my board into the inlet. The next thing I knew, I looked down and saw how shallow the inlet was! I jumped off my board afraid I was going to run my fin into the ground and looked around me. One of my female competitors had slowly surfed past me as I climbed back on my board looking for deeper water. I probably paddled for about 250 meters being super careful with my paddle strokes as the water was still quite shallow. Once we pulled into Mason's inlet, I clocked about 12 minutes for the first kilometer. This was because the current and wind was against us.
Once we rounded the left corner to come to the inland flat water section of the course, the current had switched and pushed us towards our destination. I was now paddling about 6.30 minutes per kilometer. Even though we were now paddling in flat water with the tide pushing us further down the course, I still felt tired as I pushed hard against the head wind that was coming from the west. After the flatwater section was done, we had to push even harder in the Jetty. The Jetty had two breakwalls on both sides of it and lots of boat traffic coming in and out of the channel, which made for dishwasher conditions to paddle through. I kept my head down and wobbled quite a bit, but was proud of myself for not falling in. When we popped back out into the ocean, it felt quite calm again. I could see Jenna Blackburn infront of me but I just couldn’t catch her. I felt a bit sad because I thought that my mistake at Mason's inlet cost me my top ten position. Not long after I paddled past Kristin Thomas and Dave Bohene on the live feed boat. I heard Kristin Thomas yell “that's Maddi rounding out the women’s top ten!”. This comment gave me new energy as I paddled hard for the final two kilometers. I passed a couple of men on the course, and rounded the final buoy. I pulled my leash off, jumped off my board and ran up the beach with my board. I dropped my board just before the finish line and made a final sprint to the end. I finished the race in 2 hours and 41 minutes! I couldn’t believe it! I still wasn’t sure if I had come in tenth place or not. Did I count my position wrong at the start of the race?
I spoke with lots of friends, and other fellow racers at the finish. We sucked back air and drank lots of water as we caught our breath. I kept asking those around me if they knew how I finished and no one had an answer for me. We walked back to our Airbnb and I called a few friends and family to tell them about the race. My mom asked “how did you place?” and I said “I honestly don’t know if I made the top ten or not…”. Shortly after one of my friends in the house said “the results are up online now go check it out!”. So I did… and discovered that I landed in tenth place! I started to cry as I couldn’t believe I was able to pull off the top ten in the elite female category for the graveyard race. I cried as I pictured my twenty year old self watching the graveyard race five years ago. I knew it was a race that I had to prepare hard for, and I finally did it five years later.
For the rest of the festival we chatted with other athletes, watched the technical races the following day, and just enjoyed the scenery of North Carolina. I knew deep down in my heart that I probably could have given more into the race, but I'm proud of what I was able to pull off. I learned so much and felt so humbled by the amount of high level competitiveness I was surrounded with all weekend. It fuelled my fire to want to work even harder and perform better next year. I love this race with all of my heart and I can’t wait to come back next year! Thank you Paddle Logger for supporting my athletic career and allowing me to go down to races like the Graveyard! I wouldn’t be able to do it without your support! Massive thank you’s also go out to my supporters and sponsors - Starboard SUP, The SUPstick, Hammer Nutrition Canada, Paddle Niagara, Surf the Greats, Lake Surfistas, Roxy, Mom, dad, Emily, Isaac, Wilson & Claudia Chung, Antonio Lennert, Chevaun, Julia, Tobias, Charlie. I love you guys!
additional images from - Warren Won and Ashton Bulluck