I think it is a simple test of fitness and paddling performance, but some paddlers would disagree. After several conversations with paddlers from around the world over the last few months, I have combined those conversations into this guide to going faster and posting the best Time Trial entry you can.
This guide covers three areas.
- The Rules
- Equipment
- Boards
- GPS devices and accuracy
- Planning.
The Rules
There is a blog post with the Time Trial rules in it, and you can find it here: The Rules. If you are thinking of having a go at a time trial, then that is where you start!
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| The TT is open to any board up to a maximum length of 14 feet. |
It may seem like there are a lot of rules, but the essence of the Time Trial is simple: paddle 5km or 10km in one go, finish where you started and go as fast as you can!
Equipment - Boards
The SUP My Race Time trial is only open to boards with a length of 14 feet or less. This is to keep things as fair as possible. 14’ is an internationally used standard length for race boards.
It is impossible for me to validate board length, and if I suspect that a TT has been completed on a longer board, then that TT will not count. And it is not possible for me to split the time trial by board type, hardboard or inflatable. I have tried to do this in the past, and it did not work.
Equipment - GPS
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| My Garmin Fenix, most GPS watches are good enough for the TT |
To take part in any of the SUP My Race challenges, you need to use a GPS-enabled device, a watch, phone or dedicated SUP GPS, and you will need to submit the data from it using screenshots of your data. Your screenshot will need to show the start and end points of your race as well as the time taken and the date. For some apps, specifically Garmin Connect, I may require more data to prove you did not stop your timer mid-race.
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| Timing data from Garmin Connect |
The Time Trial requires you to be familiar with your GPS device to ensure that your data meets the Time Trial rules. For example, Garmin devices are often set by default to use smart recording; you should change this to record every second if you are serious about your Time Trial effort.
All devices, watches and phones need storage to record your data. If your device is short of storage, then it may have trouble recording your activity. It is always a good idea to periodically clear activities from your watch and to make sure your phone has some free space.
GPS Signal
GPS devices need some time to work out where they are before you start paddling. This is a common problem for paddlers who paddle to their start position, start their device and immediately start their Time Trial. Your device, especially a GPS watch, will need time to work out where it is. If your device does not have a good GPS signal, then it might place your starting position away from your physical location, which then makes it impossible for you to line up your start and end.
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| My Garmin is waiting for a good signal lock |
I think this is a more common issue for GPS watches than it is for apps used on phones. Your phone almost always knows where it is when it is switched on, and it only takes a few seconds for a tracking app to get an accurate GPS position. But your watch only needs to know where it is when it is tracking an activity; you may need to wait for it to be as ready as you are.
Many dedicated GPS devices maintain a file of satellite locations; this is used to speed up signal lock when you activate your device. This file is normally updated regularly if you are using the watch; the frequency of updates depends on the device and the GPS chip used.
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| This TT was started before the watch was ready. |
In this screenshot, used with permission, the paddler used a large buoy in the sea for their start and finish. They paddled out, started their activity and immediately started their race, ending at the same buoy and then turning around it, as shown at the end of their track. You can see that the start of their track is strange, with two changes in direction immediately after starting their race, something that they did not do. This was the watch trying to catch up. They started their activity before the watch had a good GPS signal, paddled their route and set a great time, which sadly did not count. Their next attempt was perfect!
If you have not used your GPS for some time, this file could be obsolete, and it can take a lot longer for your device to calculate its position accurately. If you start to record an activity before the device has calculated its position, then your start will be an estimate, not a precise location. At the end of your Time Trial, your device will have a precise location that is unlikely to match the estimated start position.
Things to think about
- It can take 15 minutes for an older device that has not been used for a while to get a good GPS location (source Garmin).
- If you last used your device at a location that is far from your current position, it will take longer to get a good GPS location (source Garmin)
- Stopping and starting a new activity will force your device to calculate a new position, which will take time, and you will need to wait.
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| A 10km TT with warm-up and cooldown |
What do I do?
I use a Garmin Fenix watch to track my activities and then use Strava to crop my Time Trials from the Garmin data. I use the free version of Strava, and it has the best tool for cropping activities that I have used. This enables me to see the start and end clearly when cropping and it has the ability to allow me to adjust them in very small increments.
I always activate my watch when I am unloading my board, which allows it to get a very good signal lock before I get to the water, and when I am ready, I start my activity, knowing my watch will track my path correctly.
I always include my warm-up and cool-down in the same activity; then, I know my watch will have the best chance of accurately tracking my activity. I then crop my TT from that activity, removing the warm-up and cool-down.
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| The cropped 10km TT |
GPS Accuracy
This is a huge topic in its own right and includes differentiating between GPS and GNSS systems. For the purposes of this blog, I am not going to dive into that!
You can improve the accuracy of your GPS device by setting it up to use more than one satellite constellation. There are 5 constellations available, and they are not all equal; some are better than others. My Garmin Fenix is set up to automatically choose the strongest signal using a combination of GPS, GALILEO and GLONASS.
This means that my location data is as good as it can be and should give my location within 2 or 3 meters.
A quick Google search tells me that at the time of writing, GPS accuracy for different devices is
Device | Accuracy |
New Phone | 5m |
Garmin Watch + GPS | 3m |
Garmin Watch + GPS + other | Under 3m |
Apple Watch | Unknown |
Older phone | Over 5m |
Notes:
- Many of the most popular GPS devices use the same GPS chipsets and have similar accuracy. I have listed Garmin here because I have experience with several Garmin devices.
- Dedicated GPS devices are usually more accurate than the GPS on a phone.
- Accuracy on all GPS devices is impacted by the location; if there are lots of solid things around you, it makes it harder to get a good location.
- The Apple Watch is interesting because in some circumstances, it appears to be equal to Garmin, but it appears to be less reliable.
If in doubt, read the manual for your device!
Planning
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| My training lake, image from Strava |
This could be the most important part of a successful Time Trial: planning your route.
One of the most common complaints about the TT is that it only works on canals, which is clearly not the case, and most of the fastest time trials are set on larger bodies of water because they are faster than canals!
Not everyone has a body of water that is long enough to paddle in a straight line for half the distance, turn and race back to the start to cross your virtual finish line in triumph! But you really do not need a straight course…
All you need is a place to paddle safely, a place to start and to know you have reached halfway.
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| The eastern end of my training lake |
The start and finish are the key to success for a Time Trial.
You need to find a landmark you can use as your start and finish, something that is not going to move at all while you are racing, you should be able to paddle past this spot at approximately the same distance each time you use it, this is key to getting your start and finish lined up for the virtual TT.
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| A precise crop requires some planning on your race route |
When you have identified a position, you then need to work out where to go to complete the distance you are racing, 5km or 10km, avoiding anything that will slow you down, low bridges, shallow water, rocks, angry birds, jet skis etc.
What to I do?
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| Car park and launch at the green dot. My preferred start is the headland bottom centre, alternative at the small island top right. Image from Google |
My most-used Time Trial course is at my local training lake. My preferred start line is at a small headland, which in the summer has a small jetty and buoy for a small boat. In winter, I just use a prominent rock as my start and finish.
Approximately 50m from my start point is a bright orange buoy, I use this to line up the start and end when I am paddling, I know if I am close to the orange buoy when I start and finish my time trial it will be easier to crop my effort to the distance I want.
If the wind requires me to follow the other shoreline, then I use a small house on an island as my start. I make sure my finish is along the same course between two islands as far as possible, watching out for rocks and fishermen!
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| My training lake and the location for many of my Time Trials. Image from Google |
For a 5km TT I simply follow the coast until my watch beeps to tell me to turn, then I retrace my route. This is harder to do on the north track because at 2.5km there is a very shallow section with some huge rocks under the surface!
For a 10km, from either start point, I have to turn at the end of the lake before I get to the halfway point of my race. If conditions are calm, I simply follow the other shore until my watch beeps. If I need to stay close to the southern edge of the lake, then I turn at the beep and go back to the end, where I do another 180-degree turn and power back to the finish. For the northern route, I have started to do a lap of the larger island as I pass it, once each way. This gives me a solid 10km route.
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| The local fjord, the fastest TT course near me. Image from Strava. This TT would not count under the current rules! |
However, the lake is not my preferred location for a TT. By far the best course near me is in the local fjord. Although harder to line up a start and finish, I use a big rock on a small island at the northernmost point of the fjord near my launch spot, and with much more boat activity, the fjord is salt water, which is significantly faster for racing than fresh water is.
A 5km here is fairly easy: paddle south, turn and paddle north; a 10km requires more concentration, a left turn at an island to avoid a reef that is almost exactly 5km south of my start. In open water with no landmarks, avoiding that reef is important as it can be very hard to spot on a flatwater day!
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| The Eastern end of my training lake |
Summary
The SUP My Race Time Trial is intended to be a good way for you to push yourself and measure your performance against others around the world. It is not a substitute for real racing, which is much more social and requires a different skill set!
I hope that the Time Trial is something that most paddlers can take part in; it does take some preparation and planning and this guide will help you post the best time you can.
Remember, Fast is fun!
Investing in yourself is the BEST upgrade you can make, with no exceptions. And that one of the reasons there is a Time Trial on SUP My Race.
Multiple SUP World Champion, Michael Booth, has been coaching me as I try to beat the 30-minute barrier for the 5km Time Trial. yYou can find out more about Michael's training on his website Booth Training, from Booth Training on Instagram and on BoothTV on YouTube.
You can find me running SUP My Race, the longest-running and largest challenge group for Stand Up Paddlers around the world, and occasionally on Instagram.
You can read about my progress with Booth Training using the links in the sidebar or this link.
See you on the water!