Dabbling In Paddleism Podcast

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with legendary ultramarathon paddler and “Queen of the 650”, Salli O’Donnell from Alabama. While Salli certainly has a very decorated paddling career, most recently she’s coming off of overall solo victories in the Suwannee 230 and the Alabama 650 in earning the new Southern Harm award in the process. We cover so much in this episode from her transition to u...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with legendary Canadian expedition canoeist, Mike Ranta, who has paddled over 30,000 miles in his expeditions combined, including coast to coast across Canada 3 times solo with his dog Spitzii. We cover so much in this episode from growing up spending months living and paddling in the bush near Atikokan, Canada which is the Canoe Capital of the World, suppor...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Jon Marble, ultramarathon paddler, aerospace engineer, and developer of the race and adventure tracker Race Owl. We cover so much in this episode from racing in the MR340, the stories behind racing misadventures that keep him coming back, the story behind Race Owl, the many features the app offers to paddlers, dot trackers, as well as race directors and...

In this episode, Chris Thomas celebrates the 1 year anniversary of the show, gives a recap of 2025, and dives into upcoming changes and what is to come in 2026.

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down again with Dave Maitland and Scott Worthington to chat about the second half of their 2000 mile journey source to sea on the Yukon River as they recount their expedition from Galena, Alaska to the Bering Sea. Another great chat with two gems from New Zealand in which they describe unfinished business after a premature med-evac in 2024. We cover so much in th...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with brother and sister in-law Lauren Anderson and Sean Lougheed out of Ontario, Canada. They finished 3rd overall and 2nd place canoe in the 2025 Yukon 1000 under the handle Team Outlaws. We cover so much in this episode from origin stories to getting to the Yukon 1000 via the YRQ, the importance of being connected to the land, cross training during the win...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Alex Somoano, massage therapist and stand up paddle boarder originally hailing from Cuba who emigrated to the U.S. in Miami, Florida as a young child where he quickly discovered he was athletically inclined. I’ve been looking forward to this chat for a long time and it really turned out to be a fantastic conversation with a great human being. We cover s...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Ryan Milby out of Missouri, who is a self-proclaimed normal dude, Chief Hobby Officer, and founder of Llama Racks. We cover so much in this episode from yet again the welcoming nature of the paddling community, his journey getting into ultramarathon paddle racing as well as starting Llama Racks, jumping in head first into the MR340 and paddling through...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Esther Wheeler one of the premier ultramarathon female paddlers who just came out on top again this year in the Yukon River Quest in a kayak. We cover so much in this episode from the way she entered the paddling scene through a traumatic experience on whitewater, visualization techniques, the spell of the Yukon, the Great River Club, being a board memb...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Michelle Bousquet, ultramarathon runner and paddler out of Montreal who just podiumed in the 2025 Yukon River Quest in the solo female kayak class on her second attempt. We cover so much in this episode from her journey to finding ultramarathon running as well as ultramarathon paddling, her 250 mile Cocodona ultramarathon running race, sleep deprivation...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Alain Morvan out of France who is the race director for the Loire 725, which is the longest ultramarathon paddling race in Europe. Alain started out as a whitewater paddler in his younger days and eventually made his way to ultramarathon paddling with the goal of competing in the Yukon River Quest. We cover so much in this episode from the origins and e...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Ben Lott out of New Zealand who is an ultramarathon paddler, mountaineer, adventurer, trail runner, adventure racer, and equestrian who keeps finding his way back to the Yukon year after year. In addition to his adventuring exploits he is involved with the Yukon River Quest board and is involved with the race fleet as well. We cover so much in this epis...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Glenn Nolan and Maureen Hatherley out of Ontario, Canada. Glenn and Maureen are absolute gems and certainly fan and racer favorites for those that follow the Yukon 1000. They both just completed the Yukon River Quest and the Yukon 1000 in back-to-back fashion, so we take a deep dive into their grueling experience in the Yukon this year. We cover so much...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Trey Reaves out of Alabama, who has accomplished more than most men and without the use of his legs. Trey is well known for accomplishing amazing feats in his kayak, especially recently as he just set the record for paddling the entire length of the Tennessee River in just over 7 days. We cover so much in this episode from Trey spending 2.5 years planni...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Jake VanLue out of Southwestern Missouri who recently took 1st place in the male solo kayak class in the Suwannee 230. We cover so much in this episode from inspiration and the drive to succeed he gets from his father, hypothermia interventions after going upside down on the Yukon on Lake Laberge, coaching support for ultras, the mental aspect of traini...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Deed Ziegler, founder of the backcountry and adventure lightweight nutrition company, Recpak. Deed’s company was first inspired by his career in the military and solidified by aiming to solve a problem many of us face on our adventures and races in the outdoors when every ounce matters. We cover so much in this episode from his journey to creating Recpa...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Dave Maitland & Scott Worthington, two awesome Kiwis that live their lives seeking adventure and time in the outdoors. I invited them on the show to chat about their 2000 mile source to sea attempt on the Yukon River in 2024. We cover so much in this episode from their views on the current state of affairs in ultra racing, their journey that brought the...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Bobby Johnson out of Clearwater, Florida. While he certainly doesn’t admit to it, Bobby’s racing record is certainly legendary and he is highly regarded in the paddling community as one of the top paddlers on any given race day in ultramarathon paddling. Of note, we recorded this episode before the show with his 2025 Everglades Challenge teammate Brando...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with David Thomas of Stellar Kayaks USA who is both co-owner and a design team member. Of note, this is not a sponsored episode, as I simply reached out to David to come on the show because I’m a fan of their boats and especially wanted to hear about his journey and the inspiration that comes behind their paddles and kayaks. We cover so much in this episode...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Ryan Gillikin out of Bay Minnette, Alabama who is always a top contender in ultra paddle races and notably was the overall solo female 1st place finisher in the 2024 Alabama 650. We cover so much in this episode from her exhaustive preparation leading up to a race, creative techniques to quote “manage the mystery”, her new approach to training with a co...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Brandon Grundy and Bobby Johnson, both out of Florida, who just broke the Everglades Challenge record in the tandem kayak class without a sail. This chat is a true masterclass in how to not only succeed in bot how to set a standard for excellence in ultramarathon paddling races. We cover so much in this episode all surrounding the Everglades Challenge i...

In this episode Chris Thomas sits down with athlete, exercise physiologist, and veteran coach, Zoe Nance from Uphill Athlete. Zoe has spent 3 decades in the exercise physiology field guiding a very diverse group of athletes from endurance mountain and road bikers, swimmers, triathletes, mountaineers, and paddlers for efforts like 1000 mile biking and paddling races to Mount Everest summits. We cov...

Welcome to part 2 of 2 in my collaboration series with Dr. Alison Kole of the "Sleep is My Waking Passion Podcast." In this episode Alison and I continue our discussion on how to train for and mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation. We cover topics like caffeine naps, breathing techniques, devices to help with sleep and relaxation, supplements, and optimal sleep duration while maximizing time o...

So for this episode we're going to do something a little different. First of all, my previous episodes have been released every 2 weeks, but here I'm releasing the next 2 episodes in a little quicker fashion as I partner with Dr. Alison Kole, a triple boarded pulmonary, critical care, and sleep physician that hosts the podcast Sleep is My Waking Passion. Secondly, this podcast is going to be distr...

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Craig Sawyer, a veteran ultramarathon paddler and true renaissance man. As the filmmaker of the Yukon 1000 documentary and 2023 Yukon 1000 winner in the stand up paddle board class our main focus in this episode is around lessons learned from the longest paddle race in the world and how he’s adjusting his approach to training for his upcoming solo attem...