“why do you paddle?” with puakea team rider katie peck

Puakea Designs (PD): Thanks Katie for taking the time to chat with us! Let’s start from the beginning...how did you start paddling?

Katie Peck (KP): I grew up outside of Philadelphia, PA. Every year, there is a dragon boat race that hosts many community teams. When I was 11, I paddled for one of these community teams that was made up of other girls adopted from China as well as our parents. I did this for two years, really enjoyed paddling, and wanted to get competitive with dragon boat. That is when I found the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association (PDBA) youth team, the Yutes. Yes, this is a My Cousin Vinny reference. My first season with the Yutes was also my first World Dragon Boat Championships in Prague, the Czech Republic, on the Team USA U16 team. That year, we won the U16 cup. Since then, I've been to four other World Dragon Boat Championships in the U18, U24, and Premier divisions. 

My youth team coaches, Bob and Pete McNamara, always recommend that dragon boaters who want to get better at paddling should paddle small boats. I was lucky enough to have adult mentors from PDBA who offered to help me get comfortable with OC-1 and later, marathon canoe. 

PD: We love that your paddling roots come from dragon boat! What do you love most about paddling?

KP: Fun: There's no better stress relief than paddling. You get to experience nature in a different way than you can on land. To a point, the competitive aspect of paddling is also fun for me. 

Friends: Many of the people who I know I will still call friends in 20+ years are people who I've met through paddling. Paddling has also given me the opportunity to connect with people from all around the US and the world. If I am ever traveling, I will know someone that I met through paddling who can help me out, whether that be a place to stay, recommendations for food, and connections for paddling.  

Food: This goes hand in hand with the next one, but some of the best meals I’ve had are from a post-race luau or from a travel opportunity from paddling. 

Flights: Paddling has given me so many travel opportunities: Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand, and multiple cities across Canada and the US. I also get to travel to visit my friends I’ve made through paddling! 

Fiancé: I met my future husband, Wardell, through the U24 dragon boat team in 2015. The first time I ran into him was on the beach at NAC. I was about to time trial on OC1, and he was testing on the other side.

I am marrying someone who understands my dedication to paddling, and who is so selfless. He is always in my pit crew for some of these longer races, like the General Clinton and AuSable River Canoe Marathon and will watch me paddle for an entire day while he drives around, wades through water, picks up my trash, and predicts what I want to eat and drink when we go off the plan. He is also my travel buddy. Most of our vacations together are so that we can paddle. I am very lucky to be with someone who understands my need to paddle... even on vacation. 

PD: Okay, first of all, congrats! And second of all, yes to the 5 Fs of paddling, haha! Now, what are some of your hobbies/interests outside of paddling?

KP: People have hobbies outside of paddling? 

I'm a naturally creative person, and I used to be a very serious musician. I have a Bachelor's in Music. I have natural musical talent, but my work ethic is what made me a good musician. Sitting in the same spot, practicing the same thing over and over without mistakes, and being rejected from selective ensembles has taught me a lot about perseverance and hard work. 

I’d say my relationship with music as a hobby is very slowly healing, so it hasn’t been my creative outlet lately. Nowadays, I get my creative fix in other ways. I really enjoy baking. For the past 3-4 birthdays, I have made and decorated a homemade cake for myself and my fiancé, whose birthday is the day after mine. During the pandemic, I also started to brew my own kombucha. 

My YouTube channel is a hobby, too! I got my first GoPro back in 2017 and have had lots of fun filming and editing videos. The editing process is a great creative outlet for me. I love adding in music, cutting the video to match it, and telling a story through the video, even if it's something as simple (or not) as a C2 downriver trip. At the end of the day, I want to create videos that people will not only enjoy, but I am also hoping that my channel can teach people something new about paddling. I have a few videos in my drafts that are educational.

PD: And what about the people in your support/friend/family group?

KP: First of all, my parents. They drove me to practice for many years before I was able to drive myself…I got my license at almost 22! My parents even traveled internationally to watch me in the World Championships and locally to watch me do the Clinton a few years ago. 

Wardell is also a big part of my support group, but I've already talked about him enough.

My friend Betsy, who is also a member of Wanda Canoe Club, was a great training partner. I did my first Clinton with her in C2, but now she’s across the pond and sends her support from there. I am waiting with bated breath until she moves back stateside… with her new puppy… and husband Tim, of course! 

Last, I'd say my friends Joe, Dylan, James, and Megan. They live all over the Northeast corridor, but we still travel to train and hang out with each other. 

PD: Great support crew! What are some skill sets and personality traits that complement your paddling successes?

KP: I'm a Virgo. We set goals, figure out how to achieve them, make meticulous lists, and are stubborn about reaching our goals. 

I'm also realistic. I don't do toxic positivity and will always set a realistic goal in hopes of surprising myself by exceeding the goal. 

I am intrinsically motivated. Sure, winning is cool, but I have found that trying to beat my past self is a more sustainable mindset. However, if being top dog is realistic for me in a given setting, I will always go for it.

I tried sports in 5th through 7th grade and gave up everything but soccer in 8th grade because I kept getting benched, so I am not a natural athlete who came to paddling from a different sport. However, I have been told I have natural paddling ability and bodily awareness, and these factors combined with my work ethic is what has made me the paddler I am today. 

My career path has complimented my paddling successes. I chose to be a teacher because I love to learn and want to inspire young people to love to learn, too. This lends itself well for paddling because there is always something to learn and get better at. Right now, I am working on getting better at my ocean and wave reading skills. 

PD: And conversely, what are you trying to work on to be a better paddler/athlete/human?

KP: Paddler/Athlete: Learning how to train smarter on the water and off the water. April gave me some great book recommendations that I am still combing through. 

Human: I'm always trying to be a better teacher for my kids. That means being a good role model for them, both as their teacher and as a human being. 

Wardell is extremely selfless and patient, so he’s been a great role model for me in that way. "They" always say to date someone who helps you become a better version of yourself, and he is certainly helping me to do that. 

PD: Any races you are looking forward to in 2022?

KP: Wild Buffalo, General Clinton with my friend James. AuSable with TBD, maybe the Gorge, and hopefully Club Crew World Championships (dragon boat). I’m also getting married next year, so we’ll how much of this I manage to accomplish…

PD: That is a full plate! Can’t wait to follow along. Who are some of your favorite artists, athletes, authors, musicians, etc?

KP: Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven- I blame the Bachelor’s in Music. I took a semester-long history course on Beethoven and find him and his music fascinating. 

Other music that I like that is not written by dinosaurs… I’ve been enjoying SOUR even though I luckily have never experienced the heartbreak that Olivia Rodrigo has.

PD: And last but not least, what is your favorite travel destination(s)?

KP: Anywhere with good food and clean water to paddle in.

PD: Now that we know a little bit more about you we would love to get your thoughts on your first AuSable Marathon Race that you just completed in late July! What did you do to prepare for the race?

KP: A lot of seat time, research and experimentation for calories to consume during the race, and talking to more experienced paddlers on how to best prep for the AuSable. Finding a good partner is also key to a good race. My partner for this year, Jeff, is awesome. He taught me a lot about reading water, and he is super patient, humble, and even-tempered. He also taught me to choose my partners based on personality. Synergy is a necessity, or else you will not survive, no matter how strong both paddlers are. 

PD: How was your experience racing this race?

KP: I can't speak highly enough of this race. First of all, it's extremely organized. There are many volunteers in the local Michigan paddling community who make sure every aspect of the race goes well: registration, time trials, paddler introductions, race checkpoints, DATA (see the website - they post splits for every boat at certain checkpoints and have historical data for past records at these checkpoints), portages, and media exposure. Second, the race transforms from a small Midwest community that loves paddling into a bustling hub of paddlers from around the US and Canada. You know they love paddling when they have a paddling themed brewery, Paddle Hard Brewing.

This race has so many special moments: the way the street empties out and quiets down in the last 5 minutes before the gun goes off, the crowd cheering as you are out of breath running down the street in Grayling to the boardwalk at Ray's, the put-in and trying to get going without flipping, paddling in the twisty section of the AuSable as the sunlight disappears, the sensation of paddling at night (especially when it's lit up by a bright orange full moon like this year), getting out of the boat for the first time at Mio dam and the relief that you can feel your legs again, seeing the sunlight at Alcona, sliding down the hills at Cooke and Foote dams, then hearing the William Tell Overture as you pass the finish line at Oscoda. 

If I had to describe the entire race in one word, it would definitely be fun. Even the unglamorous parts.

PD: Judging from your last answer, I think we already know the answer, but would you race this race again?

KP: Heck yeah…apparently right after we got out of the boat, I was already talking about next year. HAH. I would love to do it many more times. I believe the oldest competitor this year is in his 70s! There is also an Iron Paddler award for 10 finishes, which is something I’d love to achieve. It would also be cool to one day be in one of the top Mixed or Women's boats. 

PD: That is amazing! Would you do anything differently the next time around?

KP: I need to play around a bit more with nutrition and training. Nutrition because I got nauseous about half way through the race, and I think it was because of what I was eating and drinking. And training, because while I had a lot of hours going into the race, I wish I went in with about 10 more hours and with more 5+hr paddles. 

PD: Right on, always learning. Big Mahalos to Katie Peck for the time and answering our questions, to Maddie Spoto for pulling these blog post together, to Jimi Spoto for proofreading and to the photographers always supporting our community! You can find Katie Peck on Instagram at @ktcanoe and on YouTube here.