COCHRANE— Dan Miller, an internationally ranked paddler from Cochrane won first overall at the 13th annual Easy Rider SUP Cup in Edmonton on Sunday (Aug. 23).
The easy Rider SUP Cup is a 17-kilometre race that winds it's way down the North Saskatchewan River, from Terwillegar Park in the east end of the city to the Low-Level Bridge near the heart of downtown.
“It’s got some pretty big names that have done it, from Hawaii, California and Australia, two Olympic gold medalists, have competed in the past,” Miller said.
Although many international competitors were not able to attend this year, Miller said the event saw about 70 people enter the race.
The excitement from his recent victory took a while to set in.
“When you race these things, I always tell everybody, you need to feel like you’re having a heart attack. That’s how you know you’re going hard enough. When you finish the race, the biggest feeling isn’t usually joy, it’s usually, like, ‘I need to get off this board and get some water.’ It feels pretty good now though,” he said with a chuckle.
Miller said that he felt like the race was a close one until he crossed the finish line.
“Right off the start line, I got into first place immediately, and I never looked back. I could hear second and third place breathing down my throat the whole race. When I crossed the finish line I turned around and I couldn’t see them anywhere,” he said. “I probably finished a kilometre in front of the second-place person.”
He mentioned that he thought the wind might have played tricks on him because the race was not as close as he thought it was.
Each year the International Surf Association hosts the stand-up paddleboarding world cup, last year in El Salvador.
According to its standings, Miller is ranked 15th in the world. He has participated in two world cups for stand-up paddleboarding in the five years that he’s been doing it competitively, and was set to compete in the Outrigger Canoe World Cup this year in Hawaii, but the event has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
The Calgary-based team, Miller said, had a good shot.
“We’ve got a really good outrigger canoe team in Calgary, actually. We’ve been training out at Ghost Reservoir because Glenmore has been closed in Calgary. We’re surprisingly good for a country that doesn’t have much summertime,” he said with a laugh.
Miller is a multi-sport athlete and regularly competes in stand-up paddleboarding and outrigger canoeing.
“I’m what you call a waterman. I’m good at some sports and not great at others, but anything on the water is pretty awesome,” he said.
Not only is Miller an accomplished competitor, he is also the coach of a team of Cochrane and Calgary area paddlers, and helps to plan many of the paddling events in the region.
Four out of five of the athletes on Miller’s team found themselves on the podium for various events, with the fifth athlete placing fourth in their event.
Miller said his transition into coaching was spurred by the extra time he had on his hands after COVID-19 cancelled many of the events he would otherwise participate in.
“Because everything got cancelled this year, I’ve just been coaching and I don’t usually get to coach because I’m travelling every weekend all year. I’ve been giving tons of lessons out on, usually, Ghost Reservoir or Canmore, and getting tons of people into the sport, and it’s been great for Alberta stand-up paddling,” he said.
He said that the cancellation of the international events, which often take him to beautiful destinations like Hawaii, Florida or California, was disappointing, but he has also had a good time coaching with the extra time he has had.
“I love coaching people, it has been fun to have the extra time to get out and get in the water with folks. Usually, if I coach people it cuts into my own training time and it’s pretty tough to do, but this year it’s been a lot easier.”
With travel restrictions in place and people out of work, Miller said that stand-up paddleboarding has seen a spike in activity this year.
“Just to give you an idea, usually when I hold a race in Calgary or Canmore, I’ll get anywhere from 10 – 20 people out to it and so far this year we’ve gotten up to 70 people at each event. It’s been amazing," he said. “And stand-up paddling is super fun so we get a lot of people out for that."
Miller has two races planned to wrap up the summer season.
On Saturday (Sept. 12), female paddlers will compete at the Ghost Reservoir for the coveted title of Queen of the Valley.
Miller said he has more than 30 registrants and expects roughly 40 to compete.
Because it is a women’s only event, he said that a few men had expressed some disappointment that they could not compete, so the following day he’ll be hosting the Dam Jam, an open competition for men and women at the Ghost Dam.
