Dabbling In Paddleism Podcast

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Brad Friesen, stand up paddle boarder, adventurer, and race director out of Winnepeg, Manitoba. Brad is one of the top elite ultra paddle boarders out there and is a clear contender in any race he enters. We cover so much in this episode from his early days of river surfing, coaching and instructing SUP, his basecamp barista, crew, and family support at Last Paddler Standing, training for paddle sports in a cold climate, theoretical limits for Last Paddler Standing, camaraderie, sleep deprivation strategies, comparisons between the Yukon 1000 and the Alabama 650, LPS weather delay impacts, the Red River Paddle Challenge and how shorter races can help grow the sport of ultra paddling, and a sneak peak at one of his upcoming new races. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Brad himself on this 37th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Brad’s Book Recommendations:

-Paddle to the Amazon, by Don Starkell: https://a.co/d/1X1ExTQ

Links:

-Red River Paddle Challenge: https://www.redriverpaddlechallenge.com/

-Winnipeg River Quest: www.winnipegriverquest.com

Socials: (IG)

@bradfriesen

@redriverpaddlechallenge

@winnipegriverquest

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with a couple paddling legends, Paul Cox out of Georgia and West Hansen out of Texas. There’s a lot of laughs in this episode with these two characters, so buckle up, because it’s gonna be entertaining. We cover so much in this episode from their entries into ultra paddling, Paul’s previous attempt on the Yukon River, canoes versus kayaks over extreme distances, importance of navigation in the Yukon Flats, boat modifications, water reading skills, rough weather conditions and angry beavers, a firsthand review of a new GPS device, how the sport has changed over the years, and bucket list races and adventures. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Paul and West themselves on this 36th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

West’s Book Recommendations:

-The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard: https://a.co/d/1AC2sbg

-Running the Amazon, by Joe Kane: https://a.co/d/g4tHddc

-Into the Thaw, by Jon Waterman: https://a.co/d/cDGqfF4

-Arctic Crossing, by Jon Waterman: https://a.co/d/gk2hfi2

-Anything by Buddy Levy

-Anything by Hampton Sides

Paul’s Book Recommendations:

-Great Heart, by James West Davidson: https://a.co/d/3Q2PslK

Socials:

-IG: @paul.cox

-FB: m.facebook.com/paul.cox.77920526/

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Greg Wingo, race director of the Great Alabama 650, Last Paddler Standing, the Eliminator, and mastermind behind Roam Projects a multi-country trekking and adventure travel experience. We cover so much in this episode from his unique new race in the UK the Eliminator with partner race director Cassie Salter, the 2025 Alabama 650 and how it has compared to years past, all the variables that can impact performance in such a long distance race, the difficulty of Mobile Bay, app innovation for dot trackers, SUPs, still riding a high from a multi-record setting year at LPS, inspiration behind the location change, the overwhelming positive support from the community of Lake Placid, and new Roam Project trekking locations. Just as a side note, we did 2 takes for this episode, because on the first take Greg wasn’t ready to share new updates for his UK Eliminator race, but we got all of those updates fresh off the press at the end of the chat. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Greg himself on this 35th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Greg’s Book Recommendations:

-Lost City of Z, by David Grann: https://a.co/d/68XrPwr

-Anything that Adam Shoalts writes [examples: Vanished Beyond the Map (https://a.co/d/52LJGAz), Beyond the Trees (https://a.co/d/3Zj3DEy), Where the Falcon Flies (https://a.co/d/imS2w9x), Along Against the North (https://a.co/d/3ENQ53c)]

Links:

-Alabama 650: https://www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com/great-alabama-650/

-Last Paddler Standing: https://lastpaddlerstanding.com/

-The Eliminator: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Eliminator-61577037287882/

-Roam Projects: https://roamprojects.com/home.html

Socials (IG):

@greatalabama650

@lastpaddlerstanding

@roamprojects

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Ethan Roadley, a kiwi, who recently undertook an expedition circumnavigating via kayak nearly all the way around the South Island of New Zealand until 6 weeks of horrible weather caused him to throw in the towel with only about 56 kilometers to go. We cover so much in this episode from a 100 day expedition tackling first descents in the whitewaters of Fiordland National Park, nutrition planning for expeditions including hunting and fishing, getting stuck in expeditions due to weather, winter weather paddling conditions, the stress of finding a land-able shoreline spot as daylight is coming to a close, amazing wildlife encounters, navigating tides and currents, treacherous beach landings, game changing gear for salt water conditions, heartwarming hospitality of his fellow kiwis, and the little things that helped to overcome the low points. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Ethan himself on this 34th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Ethan’s Book Recommendations:

-A Winter’s Paddle by Tara Mulvany: https://a.co/d/27QzXlN

-Southern Exposure by Chris Duff: https://a.co/d/ax0SDcI

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with legendary ultramarathon paddler and “Queen of the 650”, Salli O’Donnell from Alabama. While Salli certainly has a very decorated paddling career, most recently she’s coming off of overall solo victories in the Suwannee 230 and the Alabama 650 in earning the new Southern Harm award in the process. We cover so much in this episode from her transition to ultra paddling from ultra running, the North Carolina Challenge, the James River 100, the logistics of planning for ultras, a continuous improvement mentality, recovery strategies, pre-race and in-race game plans for skin protection, paddling technique, nutrition rabbit holes, dealing with adversity and slumps, the importance of not wasting any opportunities, the evolution of ultramarathon paddling, and entering into the sprinting world. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Salli herself on this 33rd episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Salli’s book recommendations:

Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown: https://a.co/d/7Y4RE5P

Find Salli on FB at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1552487491685668/

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with legendary Canadian expedition canoeist, Mike Ranta, who has paddled over 30,000 miles in his expeditions combined, including coast to coast across Canada 3 times solo with his dog Spitzii. We cover so much in this episode from growing up spending months living and paddling in the bush near Atikokan, Canada which is the Canoe Capital of the World, supporting youth, veterans, first responders, and First Nations by promoting awareness and developing supportive wilderness programs, massive 500+ mile portages with a canoe over the Canadian Rockies, aggressive apex predator encounters while circumnavigating Great Bear Lake, strategies for primarily living off the land, sleep deprivation strategies for extreme expeditions, getting hit by lightening, self-made clothing, and the inspiration behind him building the worlds largest paddle, the Big Dipper. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Mike himself on this 32nd episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Mike’s book recommendations:

Bush Runner by Mark Bourrie: https://a.co/d/htm6Jd2

Frozen in Time, by Owen Beattie & John Geiger: https://a.co/d/3vAPn7F

How to find Mike:

Facebook - Mike Ranta’s Paddle: https://www.facebook.com/mikerantaspaddle/

Warrior Adventures Canada: https://warrioradventures.ca/

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Jon Marble, ultramarathon paddler, aerospace engineer, and developer of the race and adventure tracker Race Owl. We cover so much in this episode from racing in the MR340, the stories behind racing misadventures that keep him coming back, the story behind Race Owl, the many features the app offers to paddlers, dot trackers, as well as race directors and support crew, the story behind the storm-cancelled MR340 mid-race in 2023, how to connect with RaceOwl as a race director or even as a paddler about to attempt an FKP, and volunteering for the paddling community and how to volunteer with RaceOwl. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Jon himself on this 31st episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

www.raceowl.com

Jon’s book recommendations:

-Missouri River 340: First Time Finisher, by Stephen, Linda, Robert, Ellen, Christine, & Claire Jackson https://a.co/d/h2XefAr

In this episode, Chris Thomas celebrates the 1 year anniversary of the show, gives a recap of 2025, and dives into upcoming changes and what is to come in 2026.

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down again with Dave Maitland and Scott Worthington to chat about the second half of their 2000 mile journey source to sea on the Yukon River as they recount their expedition from Galena, Alaska to the Bering Sea. Another great chat with two gems from New Zealand in which they describe unfinished business after a premature med-evac in 2024. We cover so much in this episode from experiencing the Yukon in both seasons, the Yukon 800 high-speed riverboat race, the slog and suffer fest that the Yukon unleashes on those that venture past Galena, the importance of keeping your world small in challenging conditions, tidal flows and what to expect in the delta region near Emmonak, local Alaskan hospitality, and an upcoming trip with wounded veterans on the Mackenzie River. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Dave and Scott themselves on this 29th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Scott’s book recommendations:

-Honest Dogs: A Story of Triumph and Regret from the World’s Toughest Sled Dog Race, by Brian Patrick O’Donaghue https://a.co/d/5X4V2j9

-Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler https://a.co/d/fLTtMOp

-Yukon 800 motorboat race: https://www.yukon800.com/

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with brother and sister in-law Lauren Anderson and Sean Lougheed out of Ontario, Canada. They finished 3rd overall and 2nd place canoe in the 2025 Yukon 1000 under the handle Team Outlaws. We cover so much in this episode from origin stories to getting to the Yukon 1000 via the YRQ, the importance of being connected to the land, cross training during the winter in a cold climate, stretching, interesting in-race recovery biohacking strategies, pre-race bloodwork to guide physiologic optimization, showing up for each other as teammates, and becoming the best version of oneself through epic paddling adventures. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Lauren and Sean themselves on this 28th episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

www.yukon1000.org

IG: @outlaws_paddling

Sean’s book/app recommendations:

-Kings of the Yukon, by Adam Weymouth: https://a.co/d/3cs0gb4

-Great Heart the history of a Labrador Adventure, by James West Davidson: https://a.co/d/3cs0gb4

-The National Film Board of Canada: https://www.nfb.ca/

Lauren’s book recommendations:

-Two Against the North, by Farley Mowat: https://a.co/d/6QLhRAj

-Songs of a Sourdough, by Robert W. Service: https://a.co/d/2FuTgcG

Fastest Known Paddle (FKP): www.fastestknownpaddle.com

FKP Podcast episode w/ Lindsey Tilton: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/17-chris-thomas-fastest-known-paddle-paddlings-answer/id1752312685?i=1000732530635