Paddling for gold
GIBSONIA — Winning is more than something Edna Spang has grown accustomed to doing.
She practically expects it.
Spang, 49, of Gibsonia, is the manager of the Adams Ridge Community Pool in Mars. She also serves as an instructor of water safety for the American Red Cross.
“I'm in the water quite a bit,” she said.
She excels while she's there.
Spang recently returned from Dubuque, Iowa, where she competed in the USCA Canoe and Kayak National Championships. She came home with two gold medals and one silver.
Spang won the overall women's title in the Sea Kayak and Women's Stand-Up Paddleboard and placed second in the Women's K 1 Racing Kayak. All three events were marathon distance.
She finished second to a 20-year-old whose father is a former Olympian kayak racer.
“That young lady will probably be a future Olympic champion,” Spang said. “She's fantastic.
“I'd love to get more competition in these events, but they are long races and there aren't a lot of women who can compete that long in a kayak.”
The USCA National Championships are held in a different location every year. Spang first competed at nationals in 2014, winning gold in the Sea Kayak, K 1 Racing and Women's Tandem. The latter event has two women in the same kayak.
She competed again in 2015 and won gold medals in all three events again. Last year, a work commitment prevented Spang from making the trip to nationals.
This year's nationals were contested on the Mississippi River, “one of the most technical courses I've ever paddled,” Spang said.
But this year, her tandem partner was unable to participate.
“She has a shoulder injury,” Spang said. “These three events are spaced out over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I didn't want to make the trip to Iowa and do nothing on Sunday, so I entered the paddleboard event.“That was the first time I've ever stood on a paddleboard. I borrowed one from a dealer out there and wound up winning.”The stand-up paddleboard course was six miles long. The kayak course was approximately 12 miles.“I got my sea legs after the first loop around on the paddleboard,” Spang said, laughing. “I was OK from there.”The USCA Canoe and Kayak Nationals are far from the first competitive, physically challenging event she has taken part in.Spang competes in roughly 30 adventure races, marathons or triathlons each year during the spring, summer and fall months. After taking this weekend off, she'll be doing an adventure race in New York next weekend.She will follow that up with a kayak race in Charleston, W.Va., in mid-September and an ultra-marathon in Lock Haven later this fall.Spang got started with the physically challenging races 12 years ago, when her and her husband began getting involved with adventure races — paddling,. mountain biking and running.“Paddling quickly became one of my strengths and I really got into kayaking,” she said.She won the annual Pittsburgh Triathlon Adventure Race nine consecutive times before that streak was broken.“The river was too rough last time, so they took the kayak portion out of the race. That was my strong suit,” she said.Spang said she will continue to compete “as long as my body hangs in there.“I know my running skills have slowed down the past couple of years, but my biking really hasn't fallen off and my paddling is actually getting faster.“As long as my shoulders and back hold out, I'll keep going,” she added. “I love it.”
