In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with veteran paddlers Jeff Matthews and John Wellens who are definitely not novices when it comes to voluntary human suffering with paddles in hand. As recent top 5 finishers of the Yukon 1000 in the kayak class as Team Epic, we take a deep dive into their race. I specifically wanted to chat with these guys first of all, because my brother and I paddled with them early in the 2024 Yukon 1000 and realized they were just awesome dudes. Secondly, they both dealt with a great deal of adversity in their race and they rose to the occasion without a hitch. And lastly, they both helped to support an amazing cause in Team River Runner, which is an organization that helps veterans with a focus on supporting positive mental health. We cover so much in this episode, from early race setbacks, bears in camp, videography tactics while racing, the Yukon 1000 documentary Push Past Impossible, opportunities for improvement in future races, what it means to be a good teammate in an ultra paddle race, to their fundraising efforts supporting a great cause. There’s so much more to this chat with Jeff and John, but I’ll let you hear it from Team Epic themselves in this 6th episode of the Dabbling In Paddleism Podcast…

Check out this video that Jeff and John created about their Yukon 1000 race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYMKThvR8jQ

Jones Fitness
https://jonesfitnessandperformance.com/

TRR
https://www.teamriverrunner.org/

South Carolina TRR (Team Epic’s Chapter)
https://www.teamriverrunner.org/chapters/south-carolina-columbia/

Team Epic's book recommendations:
-Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
-Endurance by Alfred Lansing
-No Barriers – Erik Weihenmayer
-Mississippi Solo – Eddy L. Harris