Coosa River Ramble
By Matthew Carrier, Southeast Region Member
The inaugural Coosa River Ramble is in the books and what a way to kick off a new Southeast regional race. It was hot, it was calm and it was a lot of fun! The race offers something for just about everyone: SUP 5k and 10K, Kayak 5k and 10K, Recreational 5K, and a 24k.
OC1/OC2/Surfski/Sea Kayak course. In all, there were 55 racers coming from the Florida panhandle (thanks to USA SUP board member Michellle “Feisty” Feits), Huntsville, Mississippi and Tennessee. We had racers from 12 years old to senior master’s level aged. The race committee provided plenty of fruit and Danish for breakfast and a hearty 5 course BBQ lunch provided by Butts-To-Go in Pell City.
The SUPs had a beach start while those using a double bladed paddles had a wet start. Each course took racers along a shoreline of beautiful homes and included a small island circumnavigation and 2 flamingo buoy turns, the mascot for this year’s race. There was great competition on the course and camaraderie at the finish line. What made this race extra special, at least for me, is watching the support each racers gives one another as this is a tight-knit paddle family regardless of where they call home. Trophies were awarded to the top 3 in each category and 3 special prizes were given to show appreciation for their subject matter expertise and help along with the planning process.
Pell City’s lakeside park is an excellent venue offering a beach as mentioned as well as plenty of other soft water entry points, a huge pavilion that was our race HQ right next to the beach with adjacent parking, clean bathrooms close by, ample areas for spectating, photography and drone pilots capturing the race. There are plenty of options for the non-racers including a huge kids splash pad and playground, walking trails and plenty of shade under the oaks. The park is only a few minutes from I20 and the hotels. There are local eateries all over including several lakefront options.
Of course, being the first edition, there were a couple of small bumps in the road and lessons learned but at the end of the day, fun was had by all and no one left hungry! I can’t tell you how excited I am about the 2027 edition, and the planning has already begun. We are looking to add a Sunday event, be it a technical race, a leisure paddle to an awesome lakefront lunch or a group hike in the foothills of the Appalachians.
