Have you ever seen Top Gear where they do ‘The Race’ thing? They pitch some super cool new car against… a skier coming down a mountain… or a racing pigeon, a skateboarder, or any other very random form of transport that is not a car. Point is, they hype up the drama with sweeping photo footage and sports commentary worthy of a 1966 world cup final. Both forms of transport have the same start and end point, although invariably and by design, they take a different route to get from A to B. It’s a full-on race to the finish line, and there’s generally a hair’s breadth between them.
Picture the scene: Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierras, July 2018. A perfect spot for us to recreate our very own Top Gear race.
The modes of transport: Darren on his SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) taking the direct route across the water from the boat launch to the beach at the far side; me – on foot, trail running the lakeside path which meanders around the shoreline.
The tension was building as we readied ourselves, Darren blowing up his paddle board and assembling his gear. Me jogging around the car park, psyching myself up with some Rocky music. And we were off!
It soon became apparent that there’s an awful lot of planning in getting those Top Gear races so evenly matched. You might think that I had a distinct disadvantage tip toeing over the rocky terrain underfoot to try to avoid an ungainly face plant, and gasping at every breath due to the sparing oxygen levels at 8,000 feet altitude. However, the fishing boats on the lake threw a spanner in the works for Darren, on more than one occasion turning his beginner stance on the SUP into SDP instead (Sit Down Paddleboarding).
My other handicap was my Official Photographer duties. It was so damn photogenic, I had to keep stopping every two minutes to take a picture.
Despite all that, it would seem that running and SUPing are not so evenly matched – even a slow runner like me has a huge time advantage over a SUP. No reason not to bask in glory, I surmised. Meanwhile, Darren had the last laugh, as the winner had to buy the beer!
