SUP Archives - Anna S. E. Lundberg

On Saturday night, my sister and I ran Midnattsloppet, a 10k race that starts late in the evening and goes around Södermalm in Stockholm. Yay us! This was an amazing achievement particularly for my sister who has somehow managed to go from nothing to speedy gonzalez in less than a year. And she’s running another 10k next week! It was such a fun evening – a few nerves, of course, but once we were there we soaked up the atmosphere, threw ourselves into the warm-up ahead of the race, and even enjoyed the run itself. “I want to do it again!” said my sister after crossing the finishing line – this from a girl who, like many, has always said that she’s “not a runner”.

Of course the run itself was just one evening, the culmination of months of training. For me, it started when my sister suggested we go for a run together back at Christmastime. Since then, we’ve both been training off and on between other commitments and various injuries and illnesses, including running a 5k Race for Life with some of her friends back in May. When I’ve gone to visit her during the year, we’ve gone out for a run together; usually we would have gone to the theatre or the cinema and had an ice cream! We’ve still been able to chat – we generally ran at “conversation pace”, an excellent pace I think – but we’ve done it while getting fresh air and exercise. How very virtuous of us.

Stockholm from Smedsuddsvägen — I couldn’t bring my phone with me on the water to take pictures so you’ll just have to imagine how stunning the skyline looked from out on the water as the sun set over the city.

But this is what I think is so great about training for an event like this together, or simply deciding to do something a bit more active instead of the usual food-related and sedentary meet-ups that are more common. Last night, I went for an evening SUP (stand-up paddle boarding) with some friends around Riddarfjärden and Långholmen in Stockholm. Usually we would have just met for a fika or for a drink after work; instead, there we were out on the water, watching the sun setting over Stockholm Old Town. Magic.

And it’s not just me. On Facebook now, my newsfeed is full of friends going off on microadventures and secret adventures, saying yes more and being awesome together in the mornings before work. Smiling faces all around. Some of it is about escaping the city, escaping work. Some of it is about getting fit and losing the couple of kilos that we’ve put on thanks to all those cinnamon buns and salted caramel ice creams we’ve been having over the summer (no? just me?). But most of all it’s about meeting friends and having a laugh.

So next time you’re agreeing to meet with a friend after work, how about choosing something a bit different? Maybe rent some canoes and paddle down the canal? Or stay on dry land, grab your running shoes and go for a jog together? Book a tennis court and play a few sets? Grab a picnic and go to your local park? Or try some SUP!

If you want to find other like-minded adventurers, here are some of the lovely people you can join – mostly in the UK I’m afraid but I’m sure you can find similar groups of intrepid adventurers around the world! Let me know what you get up to…

Project Awesome – Danny Bent and Anna McNuff are running free fitness sessions in London on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6.30am. Here’s the Facebook page with details of locations and awesome photos to get you in the mood.

Say Yes More – Dave Cornthwaite has been running a summer series of weekend escapes in the UK. There’s still an opportunity to Join Dave or you can join the tribe on Facebook to find out about future yes-saying activities.

Secret Adventures – My first adventure was with Madoc on a secret island north of the M25 – read about upcoming trips, including the highly recommended night Kayak on the Thames and, further afield, dog sledding in the Arctic, on the spanking new website.

Escapes Retreats – A new one for me, this one is especially good if you’re interested in the wellbeing aspect: Escapes Retreats is run by a nutritionist and personal trainer.

If you happen to be in Stockholm then here are a couple of options to try kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding:

Stockholm SUP – We went out with these guys on Kungsholmen yesterday They offer courses as well if you want a bit of instruction before heading out on your own. English website here. And we didn’t have to wear life jackets, so we looked cool, which is important.

Surfbussen – This one comes highly recommended from a friend who has competed in SUP SM, so it must be good. They have kitesurfing too, for the hardcore enthusiasts among you. No English site as far as I can tell, so practice your Swedish here.

Tanto SUP & Kayak – On Södermalm, you can rent SUP and kayak here, as the name suggests. English site here.

Happy faces following an afternoon of paddling in the rain [Photo credit: Dave Cornthwaite]

As I write this, water is hitting the windowpane as a steady drizzle continues on a dreary Monday afternoon. I’m going to be spending the whole day indoors. Rewind to Saturday and as that same rain was falling I was on the other side of the windowpane, standing on an inflatable board completely exposed in the middle of the Thames along with 18 other mad adventurers. The drizzle turned into heavy rain, heavy rain turned into heavier rain. We continued our paddle strokes towards our final destination of the day, the campsite where we’d be spending the night; and all the time we had big stupid grins on our faces.

The weekend was organised by Dave Cornthwaite, the “yes man” who I met at a conference in Berlin a few weeks ago, as part of his #summerseries of little adventures in the UK. He is a bit of a stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) aficionado, having already paddled the length of the Mississippi as well as round the Caribbean island of Martinique. (Me, I was a bit more wobbly! But you do learn quickly…) The sport is an offshoot of surfing originating in Hawaii, Hoe he’e nalu. This weekend Dave was joined by Annie Ross and a gang of her “Exerk” followers, as part of her quest this year to do 52 sporting challenges in 52 weeks. We all met up on Friday night at a campsite just outside Oxford where we would spend the night before heading down the river to eventually end up at Goring, 24 miles downstream, on Sunday afternoon.

SUP pumps — Together with Wes and Greg who had also arrived early, we used the extra time to pump all the top-of-the-range Origin paddle boards full of air – yes, they’re inflatable! – and to unpack the new life jackets bought for the weekend. [Photo credit: Dave Cornthwaite]

As one of the first to arrive on Friday afternoon, I set up my little sleeping area with my sleeping bag and mat enclosed in a bivvy bag (a “bivouac sack” that acts as a waterproof shelter when you don’t have space to carry a tent or when you simply want to be that bit closer to nature when you’re wild camping). I had used it once before on a warm and dry September’s evening on an island adventure last year; this time, I made it to 5am when the splash of rain on my face woke me up. I tightened the drawstrings of the bivvy bag so that only a small gap remained around my face and I could still breathe… I think I dozed off a little but I can’t say I felt particularly well rested when the alarm rang at 7am and I got up to get ready for the first day of paddling!

Waiting for the lock — Having had to get out and carry our paddle boards and bags at the first few locks, we enjoyed being allowed to paddle through the rest of the locks on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. More happy faces! [Photo credit: Dave Cornthwaite]

The best thing about adventures like this, hands down, is the people you meet. You greet each other with a hug and within minutes you’re chatting as if you’ve known each other forever. I always find that the type of person who’s willing to go on a random adventure, not knowing anyone else on the trip and in this case never having paddle boarded before, is my type of person! Warm, positive, open to new experiences, and without exception doing something incredibly interesting with their life. Paddle boarding also lends itself perfectly to getting to know each other: as you’re making your way down the river, your pace naturally varies so that you’ll be talking to one person and then drifting towards someone else for another conversation. Plus, you have nothing else to do! No phone, no camera (I definitely wasn’t going to risk either falling into the water), no TV, no distractions to take you away from basic human interaction.

Be Happy — Says it all… [Photo credit: Dave Cornthwaite]

…which leads me to the second best thing about this particular adventure: the feeling of getting into a steady rhythm, dipping your paddle into the water at the front of the board and pulling it smoothly back through the water before lifting it, returning it to the front and repeating the movement. The stillness was beautiful, the only sounds the clucking of the water, the wind in the trees, the birds up ahead. The rain on that first afternoon only added to the experience: where we’d usually be spending the whole day indoors, probably hunched over a computer or maybe lounging on the sofa in front of the TV, instead we were out in the elements with a lovely group of people. Pure joy. And it’s amazing how little you actually need when it comes down to it: I had no coffee in the morning and yet I was wide awake; no phone or camera, so I could enjoy the experience more fully than if I was constantly trying to capture the moment in that perfect Instagram shot; and I had none of the usual stuff that I’d have crammed into my handbag in my everyday life.

SUP down the Thames — We even had some sunshine on the Sunday! Annie of Exerk is pictured in the foreground. [Photo credit: Dave Cornthwaite]

That being said, after an afternoon of getting soaked in the thunderstorm – having only just dried off after falling in earlier that day – I was shivering as we arrived at the campsite for our second night’s sleep. A 20p coin was all it took for a hot shower to bring me back to feeling human again and we were soon enjoying good food and more good conversation at the local pub; we even managed to sit outdoors later in the night. All that fresh air and exercise will take its toll, though, and we were in bed by 11pm. I couldn’t quite face the idea of another wet and vulnerable night in my bivvy bag (I’m not a real adventurer! Boohoo!) and was relieved to be offered a spot in a three-man tent. A glorious night of eight hours sleep later and I awoke refreshed and ready for another day on the river…

My arms were sore as we started to paddle; soon, though, I was back into the rhythm again and I felt like I could have gone on forever. When we suddenly arrived at Goring where we were ending our journey I felt sad that it was all over, my mood deflating along with the paddle boards; and when I woke up on Monday morning I was disappointed not to be getting back on that board. The spirit of the adventure lives on, though, in all the friend requests on Facebook, the photos that are being shared and, of course, the memories. And there’ll be a new adventure soon, that’s for sure!

Dave is continuing his #summerseries over the coming weeks. Find out about the upcoming activities and join him on one of them here.

You can also join Annie on one of her weekly sporting challenges here.

Let’s meet for a coffee? No, let’s meet for SUP!

Adventure is Out There: A weekend of stand-up paddle boarding down the Thames

Follow me

Follow my blog