Paddle for Food Relay 2011
There’s something extra special when a paddling event combines with a fundraising effort. It’s the magic in and on the water. The humility — and charity — in the face of nature, that most experienced paddlers feel. The singular reason that defines both why most paddlers paddle, and also why they would choose to leverage their passion for one day to help the needy: “Because we can.”
For one day each fall, for the past 3 years, Lake Padden in Bellingham has been the setting for one of the funnest and most rewarding paddle/fundraiser events of the year: The Paddle for Food Relay.
This year, 50 paddlers took part, paddling 39 boats, divided into 13 teams of 3, covering a total of 8 laps per team, with every paddler doing a minimum of 2 laps and a maximum of 3, laughing like a million monkeys, and in the process raising $2500 and nearly 500 pounds of food for the Bellingham Food Bank.
In a race this potentially chaotic, especially considering that teams are assembled by an over-caffeinated “committee” of 3 in the 10 or so minutes directly before the start, it’s practically a miracle that — at the end of it all — a mere 7 seconds separated the first two teams! (Heather all but closed the gap in the final lap, but her and her teammates settled for 2nd!) And only about 5 minutes separated all 13 teams.
Truly, a miracle.
Thanks, Peter Marcus, for brainstorming this awesome race a few years back. And thanks to all paddlers who showed up to throw down — for fun, and for the Food Bank!
