I am Mike Dostal, lucky enough to be father to two beautiful children Luke and Eva and to be married to Meg a lovely and truly supportive wife. I have also been selected to represent the USA at the 2017 Kayak Marathon World Championships in South Africa. So here is my campaign to get to South Africa and have the opportunity to compete against the world's best (before my wife realizes this is not normal behavior)!

Marathon Kayak racing is fun; but not in the traditional sense of the word. The race is about 20 miles which is the fun part but then you typically also have 7 portages included in that distance. This means you have to get out of the kayak and sprint with it before getting back in to continue.

The funds I am able to raise will go toward air fare, boat rental, accommodation, race entries, and all the things that enable me to get to South Africa to race. Unfortunately, the funding for kayaking in the USA is not enough to cover these costs and so athletes are largely self funded. 

To be selected to represent the USA at the World Championships you have to place 1st or 2nd at the National Team Trials. This year the trials were held in Sugarland, Texas at the end of April. I travelled down a couple of days before the race and was able to win the trials race by about 5 mins. For a great race write up and results take a look at the link below:  http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Canoe-Kayak/Features/2017/June/16/2017-Marathon-Team-Trials 

I hope to be able to make it to the World Championships in South Africa and am training and preparing as such. A huge thanks to all that have already helped me especially my wife Meg, Dave and Ed at Stellar Kayaks for the awesome boats, Michael at Braca for the paddles and the Weba Ergometer, Sue at Lenox Fit (the best gym in the Berkshires) and the guys I get to paddle with each week.