My Book 'Paddlefish'

I have written a book on my experience training and racing in the 2010 Texas Water Safari, a 260-mile paddling race from central Texas to the Gulf Coast that has earned the moniker, ‘The World’s Toughest Boat Race’. The book, titled PADDLEFISH, will be available to ship Wed Oct 12th. If you’d like to order a copy, please indicate in the box below if you’d like me to sign it, write something custom/specific (you can write what you’d like me to say), or leave it blank and I will just send it in the shrink wrap. If you have any questions about purchasing/shipping please email me at flyfishchick [at] live [dot] com. (More about the book below.)

BUY ‘PADDLEFISH’:

More about PADDLEFISH…

Considering I’ve never even run a 5K, some would say competing in an ultra endurance race at age 39 was a bit of a stretch. But from the start I was inspired to do it and 100% driven to finish. In the book, I share my personal experience with this legendary race, including the grueling physical challenges, the sensational anecdotes that come along with such competition, and the lore of the Texas history along the race route.

Click here to read an excerpt from the book

In addition to vivid descriptions of my hallucinations during the race, I also answer the two questions that I am asked the most: Where did you sleep? Where did you go to bathroom?

PADDLEFISH, it’s about a novice paddler, an extraordinary race, and it’s a river story. It’s been a wild ride from start to finish and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tell my tale.

Click here to read my bio.

JACKET FLAP BLURB:

On a sweltering summer day in 2010, Christine Warren stepped into a 24-foot canoe and paddled toward a goal that she never previously imagined possible.

The Texas Water Safari is a 260-mile paddle race from the Texas Hillcountry to the Gulf Coast. Run continuously since 1963, the course follows the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers to the coastal fishing town of Seadrift. Paddlers must complete the race in 100 hours with barely more than which they started. While the exhausting pace and blistering heat are reason enough to bow out, it’s the ancillary hurdles that often eliminate racers long before the finish line: dam portages, water moccasins, logjams, mosquitoes, dysentery, alligators, sleep deprivation, and equipment failures.

Paddlefish is the first complete narrative ever published on The Texas Water Safari. With a mixture of humor, misery, history and triumph, Christine has written an engaging and entertaining memoir of her yearlong transformation from a mom, writer and fly-fisher, to a viable competitor in “The World’s Toughest Boat Race”.

If you’ve ever wondered what extraordinary challenges lurk beyond your comfort zone, this book may help you discover what’s ultimately possible.

~ PHOTOS: ~

Portaging Cumming Dam during training:

My partner problem solving a way around this logjam during training:

Luling Checkpoint during the race:

Our team captain and my dad getting ready for us to come into a checkpoint:

Palmetto Checkpoint the first night of the race:

Leaving the Gonzales Checkpoint early on the 2nd morning of the race:

We are definitely getting rank at this point:

The Saltwater Barrier, the final checkpoint before reaching the bay and then the finish line:

The finish line in Seadrift, TX:

Click here to read an excerpt from the book

5 Comments → “My Book ‘Paddlefish’”

Andre 2 months ago

Good on you girl, we have a great race here in South Africa called the Dusi. If you plan to come to SA you must check it out.

Andre(Quote)
The Fly Fish Chick 2 months ago

now that would be cool. someday?…..

The Fly Fish Chick(Quote)
Mike Smith 1 month ago

Christine, I want to tell you what a joy it was to read your book. It brought back a flood of memories of the race that year. My partner and I were trading places with you guys pretty much throughout the race and we finished around 76 hours. I really enjoy your style and humor in the book and the brief history lessons as well. Closing statement was stupendous. Made my wife and me tear up. She is my team captain every year and understands the intrinsic reward this race offers.
I thanked her when I received it as a Chrismas present and then thanked her twice as much after finising it the next day.
Thank you for finally putting The TWS experience out there for anybody to read and using your gifts as a writer to bring it to life.

From a fellow “patch” recipient
Boat #2112 Team N.A.D.S.

Mike Smith(Quote)