The Great Salt Race 9

“Difficulties are just things to overcome.” 

-Ernest Shackleton

If you have been following the Great Salt Race saga you may know that yesterday 8/28 was our scheduled launch date and that this morning should have found me paddling the first full leg of the journey from the Great Salt Lake Marina up to the Spiral Jetty. As it happens, I am not on the lake, and the purpose of this post is to explain why that is.

About a month/month and a half ago preparations for the Great Salt Race were starting to really ramp up. This included both an increased effort to complete the boat build and a mad dash to log as many miles in paddle prep as possible. During this time however I began experiencing some medical issues that were inhibiting my ability to fully engage in paddle preparations. I saw a doctor and they were unable to fully answer what may be causing said condition. I tried to push forward hoping things would resolve themselves...never the best idea, and as things persisted I came to the devastating conclusion that until I am able to resolve these concerns it would be in everyone's best interests to postpone preparations for the Race.

Part of what made this decision so difficult was the realization that any delay, our launch date being so late in the season, would put us into a  situation where daylight hours would become shorter and shorter while temperatures would become colder and colder....not exactly the conditions we were hoping/preparing for or planning on. Which ultimately meant that a decision to delay would mean delaying until next year.

All that said, we have come to the final decision, painful as it is, that the Great Salt Race will be postponed until next season. 

I feel very confident that the extended date will allow me the time needed to resolve any existing concerns, and I fully anticipate being able to get back on the water and make this dream happen in the early summer of 2020

I have had many friends and colleagues ask about the upcoming adventure and despite the shame I have felt in having to let people know about all of this, I have been met with nothing but support and well wishes for the now future endeavor. For this I am humbled and extremely grateful. This includes MarketStar leadership who have all been supportive of these decisions Thank you!

As far as moving forward, I will continue to post on preparations for the 2020 expedition including the boat building chronicle, and of course all the paddle prep adventures as the new season unfolds. 

I began this post with a quote from Sir Ernest Shackleton, an early 20th century explorer who was met with challenges that far surpass my own, but who, through it all maintained an optimism and faith in the future that have stood as an inspiration to so so many over the decades. It is in this spirit of optimism that I close this post "difficulties are just things to overcome", The Great Salt Race has encountered some great difficulties, but my commitment here and now is that they will be Overcome!