Racing to the Yukon begins with Rod Price’s less that fun realization that he is not as young as he used to be. He had just turned forty and in an attempt to prove he still “had it” Rod entered what he would consider today to be a rather puny canoe race… 12 miles. He thought he had prepared for the race by dropping ten pounds and going to the gym. But his preparation fell short as if he had played a round of golf in preparation for The Masters. Let’s just say he got that part of him that rides in the canoe kicked royally. Worse yet, most of his old canoe racing buddies had a great laugh at his expense.
If anyone has ever wondered why boxers, quarterbacks and other athletes come out of retirement for one last ill advised attempt at former glory, Racing to the Yukon will answer that question. It just burned Rod that he was beaten by guys he could have smoked in his sleep only ten years before.
This is when Rod Price’s true adventure begins, when he grits his teeth and decides internally that come hell or literal high water he will get back in shape and be better than he ever was. And whatever races he needed to win in order to prove it he would win!
These days Rod Price wears many hats. He is still an avid Canoe Racer. He organizes canoe and Kayak races for charitable causes. Rod is a fervent environmentalist. More for camaraderie than profit, Rod is a part time river guide. And of course Rod Price continues to work at his business selling office supplies just as the rest of us do, to earn a living and pay for his fun during time off.
As a canoe racer Rod Price is among the best in the world. It seems some people are built for different things. While agile young girls seem born to gymnastics, husky muscular shouldered fellows like Rod are suited just fine to pulling a paddle through water. Rod continues to race almost every weekend all around the Southeast with focus on his home state of Florida. During winter, Florida is a Canoe racer’s paradise Rod takes advantage of this with races down (and up) famous rivers such as Al Jolson’s “Suwannee” as well as backwater spring fed streams known only to locals and named long ago by the Native Americans.
All that river work preps Rod Price for huge challenges such as his latest plan to race in the 460 mile Yukon River Race. Unlike the more sedate though grueling due to its length Yukon 1000, the 460 miler takes place earlier in the year when snow melt unleashes a wild and woolly Yukon river.
As a race organizer Rod Price has but one objective and that is to share his love of nature as seen from the seat of a canoe. Rod organizes events of all size with the idea in mind that anyone can enter, paddle their arms off and have fun along the way. There is always a charity set to benefit from Rod’s canoe races and in fact any group or good cause is always welcome to contact Rod for help in organizing events. Just don’t let Rod enter against you!
Rod Price also assists in organizing Canoe and Kayak races for other hard core adventure racers such as himself. If there is a puddle of water anywhere deep enough to float a canoe you can be sure Rod and his fellow canoe racing enthusiasts will stage a race across it, especially if the terrain is rough and tumble.
While training for and racing in over 1000 Canoe races Rod Price has encountered and come to appreciate the natural pristine state our planet started as. When one travels deep inland as Rod often does for his races, one sees a different side of the Earth. As such Rod Price is a staunch believer in caring for our planet. He practices “Green” behavior both in and out of the water, adhering to the motto “leave nothing but footprints” or in Rod’s case leave nothing but ripples in your wake. Rod has come to truly love nature and is a regular contributor to such organizations as the Friends of the Wekiva River and the World Wildlife Federation.
