Hello and greetings all,
It's been a nice little while to unwind and relax a bit after the world championships here in Dartmouth. I have been enjoying a little lower key lifestyle, with a little golf, time with friends, and crew boats and war canoe at Banook. The weather in Dartmouth has remained beautiful for the past weeks, and it is really a fantastic time of year here.
The world championships were a great experience for me, and I came away from the event with 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th place finishes, advancing to all of my finals. I was very pleased to get into both of the C-2 finals especially, but left the event yearning for slightly better results. That said, obviously I was very happy with how we did. The C-4 200m was a great race, and I was really excited about how close we were to the podium in the end. It is a race I am sure I'll be taking part again in the future, if I get my way that is. Seriously respect sent out to our Canadian medal winners, who delighted the home crowd. I have spoken to many people now post-worlds, and it seems there is a consensus that the 200m relays were a huge fan favourite.
Since the worlds came to a close, I enjoyed a Modest Mouse concert, a few games of golf, hung out with the family, visited Tatamagouche, Saint John and Fort Augustus, and am now getting prepped for nationals in Sherbrooke, Quebec... what a summer!
Cheers, and of course, keep it real!
Andrew
Hey and greetings all,
Just a few quick notes before some shoulder treatment. Can't say enough about how great the crowds have been at Lake Banook. This is such a thrill racing there! I had an absolutely great day of racing, Gab and I had a very smooth 1000m semi, and a tough fight that we came up on the right side of a shoot in the 500. Men's canoe comes through and advances in all semis so far... great work boys. Especially pumped to see my not so little brother Benny on his way to his first big worlds final. Can't wait to see what the crowds will be like tomorrow at Banook. Come out and feel free to cheer.
Keep it real,
Andrew
It's time to channel a little energy, getting very excited for the races. Thought I would include a few shots, some very inspirational dudes!
For fun the guy that tells us about the "time and place..." and the great Richard Dalton, Karen Furneaux, Mike Scarola and of course Ratch!
Hey and Greeting to everyone.
I am writing you from downtown Montreal, where we've been training for the past week. Things are progressing nicely, and despite a few aches I am feeling pretty good about our direction, and they way we've been moving the boat lately. It is a week before the beginning of worlds, and everything becomes a bit more mental now... that is if you let it.
I find it so important to stay relaxed and keep on enjoying the experience. I've caught myself a few times this week needing to remind myself of that, but altogether it's going well. As a long time Dartmouthian... and proud of it, I am extremely excited about the crowds expected for this year's world championships. It is a rare gift to be able to host an event of this calibre, let alone two (senior worlds were also held in 1997 in Dartmouth). It is also a great gift to the paddling community and the development of the sport in Nova Scotia and Canada as a whole. It is also pretty cool to know that the Russell family will be well represented in the races, crowd, and in the volunteer section as well. This opportunity is nothing short of a gift.
All for now, keep it real,
Andrew
