An Interview: marathon canoe champion Calvin Hassel by Elmore Holmes July, 2005      Though I've made occasional references to it in the past, some readers of this column still might not be familiar with marathon canoe racing, so I'll take a moment to fill everybody in.      Marathon canoe races are long-distance events (typically 6-20 miles, though a few races are much longer) that take place on flat rivers and lakes.  A marathon race boat looks pretty similar to what most people think of as a canoe, though it's a little funky-looking to meet length and width requirements without giving up too much speed.  Unlike whitewater and flatwater sprint canoeists, the competitors sit in their boats rather than kneel, and switch sides with their paddles throughout a race.      In the U.S. the governing body for this type of canoe racing is the United States Canoe Association (USCA).  The USCA style of marathon canoeing is unique to North America.  Although the International Canoe Federation (ICF) conducts an annual marathon world championships, it is not quite the same as the USCA version.  Competitors in the ICF event use boats similar to those of flatwater sprint rather than the style of boats recognized by the USCA.

Elmore's columns appear monthly at the Outdoors, Inc.,website: www.outdoorsinc.com

     Each Fourth of July weekend, the marathon canoe racers of the "Arkamo" converge on the tiny southern Missouri town of Tecumseh for the North Fork Canoe Race and Show-Me State Championships, a two-day slate of races on the North Fork of the White River and its Norfork Lake impoundment.
     Race director Rocky Caldwell, who for years has raced in the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race at Memphis, told our Memphis racing group several years ago that we were welcome to race our kayaks in his event.  Always eager to support canoe and kayak racing in this part of the country, I made my first trip to Tecumseh in 2004.
     A guy from Nebraska named Calvin Hassel was there, and according to the canoeists I knew, he was a big deal.  They told me he'd won a bunch of national titles and even a world title or two in marathon canoeing.  They deemed him the prohibitive favorite to win the C-1 class, the first on the schedule for the weekend.
     I was one of two kayakers in attendance, the other being my friend and fellow Memphian Joe Royer.  We lined up with the solo canoeists for an eight-mile out-and-back circuit on Norfork Lake.  The gun went off, and Joe and I sprinted to the front of the pack.  I looked to my right, and saw that Hassel was sitting on my wake.  Mike Herbert, an Arkansan who had competed in kayak at our Memphis race a few times, also had joined our lead pack in his marathon canoe.  While I admired the way these guys got out with the kayaks in the early going, I wasn't that concerned.
     Don't get me wrong--Hassel was obviously a strong, fit athlete whose lanky frame propelled his craft with a smooth efficiency that was breathtaking to behold.  And Herbert was no less than a three-time Olympian in flatwater kayaking who had finished a heartbeat out of the medals in 1988.
     But come on... let's be realistic.  These guys were in canoes.  Their paddles each had one blade.  I, meanwhile, consider myself a pretty strong, fit guy in my own right, and I was paddling a 20-foot-long, 18-inch-wide surf ski with a rudder, and using a two-bladed wing paddle.  If these guys wanted to use my wake to get a jump on the other C-1s, fine, but I was confident that they would fall off the pace by and by.
     As we chugged along through the July swelter, not only did Hassel not fall off the pace, but after a while he took the lead and started pushing the pace.  I began to feel a hairline crack or two in my confidence, but I told myself to relax and get a good ride on his wake while he did the work for a while.  Herbert, too, was hanging right there with us.  I suspect Joe was having the same thoughts I was.
     As we neared the turnaround point, Hassel hugged the inside of a curve and used the shallow water there to try to bump us off his wake.  This guy's not just strong, he's a good tactician too, I thought.  As he made the buoy-turn at the Udall marina, he threw in a surge to try to break away, and I had to sprint as hard as I could to stay on his stern.  We were now over the hump, and though Joe had fallen back a bit, Herbert was right behind me.  "Just stay on his wake... just stay on his wake," I told myself.
     I stayed on Hassel's wake, and then... I wasn't on his wake anymore.  I can't recall exactly where it happened, but at some point not long after the buoy-turn Hassel threw in another surge and dropped me.
     By this time, I was feeling pretty taxed by all the effort I'd put in to keep up, and we still had nearly four miles to go.  I dropped back onto Herbert's wake to get a little rest, still not giving up hope that Hassel would fade and I could mount one final charge.
     But it was no use.  Hassel wasn't slowing down, and I was worn down for good.  Mike and I chatted a bit to pass the time as Hassel built his lead in front of us, but with a mile to go I could no longer keep up with Mike either, and he left me behind.  My body and brain cried "Uncle!" as I limped across the finish line, soundly whipped by a pair of athletes who had, in essence, beaten me with one hand tied behind their backs.

     The memory that has stuck in my mind from that day--besides my dull agony--is the view of Calvin Hassel as he pulled away from Mike and me.  I remain fascinated by the combination of power and smooth control with which he propelled his boat.
     As the Fourth approached this year, I looked forward to returning to Tecumseh to get another shot at Calvin.  I know it sounds lame for a kayaker to get all fired up to race a canoeist--sort of like a high school senior picking a fight with a sixth-grader--but Hassel is no ordinary canoeist.  I, meanwhile, had been racing well all spring, and had just returned from a couple of weeks of training at altitude in the Rocky Mountains, and felt ready to go fast with the king of marathon.
     But I wanted more than that.  This year, I also wanted to talk to Calvin and pick his brain a little.  Thinking that many other paddlers might have the same desire, I decided to draw up a list of questions for him to answer that I could post in my column.
     I got to Tecumseh ready for a great race and a great interview... and Calvin wasn't there.  He had a conflict and had to miss the race for the first time in about a decade.  So I came home empty-handed.
     I tried to think of other topics for this month's column, but my infatuation with Calvin's marathon mastery continued to "Hassel" me (sorry--had to get that one in somewhere).  Finally, I decided to write Calvin an e-mail asking if he would answer my questions online.
     I was a little nervous about doing so.  I hadn't really talked to Calvin at that 2004 race other than to say "Hey man, good race," and didn't know if he was the kind of guy who would be receptive to such a thing.
     I was also aware that e-mail is generally not the best way to conduct an interview.  The interviewer is deaf and blind to all kinds of facial expressions and emphasis on words and stuff like that, and he can't immediately ask follow-up questions or get his subject to elaborate on certain points.
     Fortunately, Calvin put me at ease on both those concerns.  He replied to my initial query by saying "Sure, send me the questions."  I sent them, and then waited a week or ten days without hearing a thing.  Just when I'd begun to worry that Calvin had gotten busy with other things and forgotten about my questionnaire, he sent me his responses, and I couldn't believe the care he had put into them.  His words give a glimpse into the mind of a thoughtful, focused athlete for whom achieving his best possible physical performance is an integral part of a fulfilling life.  I wrote him back once, just to clarify a couple of points he'd made, but otherwise his responses were ready for publication in this column.
     I doubt I can adequately thank Calvin for his time and effort, but I suspect he'll be happy if the readers of this column learn all they can from his insights.
     And now, the interview.

EH: Can you tell me your date of birth, height, and weight?

CH: 1/19/64; 6’3”; and 180 pounds.

EH: Where do you live now?

CH: Grand Island, Nebraska.

EH: What is your occupation?

CH: Service technician.

EH: Do you have a spouse?  Children?  If so, how many?  Do they paddle?

CH: My wife Robyn used to train with me and race occasionally until we had kids.  We have a son Levi who is 10 and a daughter Shannon who is 6. The kids have done a few sprint races with me but they don’t want to go out and paddle very often.

EH: What C-1 design do you use?

CH: I use a Crozier-built J203.

EH: What does "J203" stand for?

CH: The "J" means it is a canoe designed by Gene Jensen.  203 is the model--the 200 series are 18'6" boats designed for bigger paddlers, and the 203 is the newest boat in that series.  They also make a 190 series that is for medium-sized paddlers and a 180 series for small paddlers.

EH: Have you added any special outfitting to your boat?

CH: No.

EH: What brand and length of paddle do you use?  Have you made any special modifications to it, or do you just use it "off the rack"?

CH: I race with Zaveral paddles.  In C-1 I use a 53” standard “off the rack”  paddle.

EH: How many national titles have you won in the various classes (C-1, C-2, C-2 Mixed, etc)?

CH: I have won 38 national marathon titles: 13 in C-1, 13 in C-2 Mixed, 11 in C-2 Men’s,  and one in Juniors.

EH: Any other major titles or significant victories?

CH: I have over 500 wins in my career but I think my wins at Nationals have been the most important.  I have won some “world championships,” but to me those titles don’t mean a lot in marathon paddling since most of the world does not paddle sit-down canoes.  At Nationals from 1991 to 2001 I had a streak of 11 consecutive wins in C-1 and in C-2 Mixed, along with 9 "triple wins" (C-1 Men's, C-2 Men’s, and C-2 Mixed).

EH: Did you win your "world championships" at the ICF marathon worlds, or at something else?

CH: There are two "world championship" races that I have competed in.  The first was called the WOMPO World Championships.  WOMPO was a world paddling organization that was formed with the USA, Canada, and Australia.  They used to hold events in the U.S. every three years.  The other race was a C-1 race held in New York that was called the Professional World C-1 Championships.  Both of the races were set up to use USCA specs, and the "world championship" part was a bit of a stretch considering only a handful of countries paddle this type of boat.
     I was a member of the U.S. team that won a silver medal in the 1000-meter event at the 1995 IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships in Yueyang, China.  To me, that meant a little more considering that over 20 different countries competed at that race.

EH: When, how, and where did you start paddling?  Was paddling strictly a "for-fun" endeavor at first, or did you get into competition right away?

CH: I have always lived in Nebraska.  My family was involved in canoe racing when I was growing up. I did my first marathon race at age 10.  Most of my early racing was for fun.  I raced the youth class with my cousin and later began paddling the men’s classes with my father.  As I got older I slowly got more serious about racing and training.  I was in my early 20s before I started training hard, and past my mid 20s before I was training at the level I do now.

EH:  Where do you do most of your training now--a lake?  a river?  Is the water deep or shallow?  Is it an open body of water exposed to wind, or is it more protected?  If it's a river, is it wide or narrow?  Straight or meandering?

CH: I do most of my training on the Platte River.  The Platte is a very shallow sand-bottomed river with moderate current.  It is narrow and protected from the wind where I paddle on it.  I think it is a challenging river to train on.  Normally the channel is 1-3 feet deep which forces you to do a lot of paddling off the bottom in the shallows.  Even the deeper sections are hard because you can still feel the bottom.  The Platte normally dries up during the summer so I end up paddling on some small area lakes later in the season.

EH:  On average, how many times a week do you paddle?  What are the challenges of arranging it around your work schedule?

CH: Currently I paddle five times a week and put about 10-12 hours per week on the water from February to September.  I have had to cut my training back about 20% from what I used to do in the 90s.  With a full-time job and two kids I cannot find enough time to train and rest the way I used to.  I have to try to efficiently manage my spare time and fit in everything as best I can.

EH:  What special types of workouts do you do for things like speed and lactic threshhold?

CH: In the spring I develop a speed base with fartlek training and then during the summer months I try to do two interval workouts per week.

EH: Do you lift weights?  If so, how often?  What type of lifting do you do (low weight/many reps vs. high weight/few reps; free weights vs. machines vs. body-weight exercises)?

CH: I lift weights in the winter, normally from November to March.  I lift three times per week with medium to high reps of low weights.  I do a combination of free weights and machines.  This is mainly for conditioning and to restore some strength I may have lost by paddling long hours in the summer.

EH: What special steps, physical and mental, do you take before a nationals or other major competition?

CH: I try to come into the race as rested and focused as I can.

EH: Browsing the results of the 2004 Nationals in Michigan, I see you got beat in C-1 by a guy named Andy Triebold.  Is he a long-time rival, or a more recent appearance on the racing scene?  Any thoughts on the challenge he presents?

CH: I have been racing Andy for the last 10 years.  He has really improved recently.  In the last few years he moved to Michigan and has been training very hard with a group of top paddlers in that area.  In 2003 Andy was very tough in C-1 but I had a slight edge in speed.  Last year I could not match his top-end speed anymore.  He seems even faster this season.  Andy is still in his 20s and getting better all the time.  He will be the favorite in C-1 at Nationals and I will have my work cut out for me trying to stay with him.

EH: Can you name any books or videos or other materials that you've found particularly helpful or inspiring?

CH: Most of what I have learned about paddling has come from other top racers.  By talking to them and paddling with and against them I have picked up a lot.  I do spend a lot of time watching “home videos” of races.  I think technique is one of the most important aspects of being fast in a boat and watching videos of yourself and other racers can really help improve the way you paddle.

EH: In your competitive travels, are there places you've been that you consider particularly interesting?

CH: I really like a lot of the marathon races that I do.  Some are very interesting events and others are held on neat rivers.  One race that stands out is Shawinigan.  Shawinigan is an approximately 15-hour, 3-day staged C-2 race in Quebec.  In the USA there are not many spectators at most marathon races, but Shawinigan has over 100,000 people watching the race and is a very challenging event.  Also, races that are different seem to stand out.  I have done some outrigger racing in Hawaii and Tahiti along with some Dragon boat racing in Asia and Europe.  It is interesting to compete in different types of races using basically the marathon paddling stroke.

EH: Can you think of any really interesting or memorable experiences?

CH: I guess most of my memorable experiences are important races that I have had through the years.  Racing Greg Barton in C-1 at Nationals in '93 and '94 comes to mind.  Those were two of my toughest C-1 wins.  I also had some memorable races against Serge Corbin at Canadian Nationals and Canton in C-1.

EH: And finally, the tough one... WHY do you do this???

CH: Growing up I spent a lot of time paddling with my father.  He enjoyed canoeing more than anyone I have ever met.  I guess his interest in the sport has influenced me a lot.  I like the competition but I also enjoy just being out on the water.

     On August 9-14, Calvin Hassel will try to add to his hefty collection of national titles at the 2005 USCA National Championships at Warren, Pennsylvania (visit www.uscanoe.com for more information).  I hope I speak for everybody when I express my gratitude for the time he shared with us and wish him luck at Nationals.