My guest on the podcast today is long time friend and paddler Rob Hartman. Rob is a husband and father of three girls. He works full time as a software developer, plays the Upright Bass as an accomplished jazz musician, and has long been one of the top masters paddlers in the US. In recent years Rob has competed primarily East of the Mississippi, where he is a top contender in any race he enters. His most recent racing efforts were focused on the Chattajack where he narrowly missed the overall Surfski win when Carter Johnson came off his draft to outsprint him at the finish.

In our discussion we talk about Rob's first exposure to kayaking in an old school fiberglass surf kayak. Rob talks about his early days as a teenager fearlessly playing in the cold and crazy surf on Lake Michigan. This ultimately led to a couple of Sea Kayak races, which led to Rob joining the US Canoe and Kayak Team and training and racing with them for a couple of seasons.

One of the things that has amazed me the most about Rob is his ability to consistently paddle at a very high level despite the demands of family and career, and of course aging. At 52 Rob is as fit as ever. What became a key theme in this podcast, as evidenced by the title, is that there is no shortcut. You've got to show up and consistently do the work if you want the type of results Rob has been able to achieve.

I always enjoy spending time with Rob, and this podcast was no exception. It went a little longer than most, but we had a lot to catch up on. I hope enjoy the discussion as much as I did.