Pedal-powered boater sets world record

At 8:05 a.m., a voice crackled over the radio.

"I'm toasted."

But Canadian endurance athlete Greg Kolodziejzyk, 47, still had one hour and 25 minutes of pedaling left as he strained to break the 24-hour distance record in a human-powered boat.

Doubt crept into his voice as he asked his support crew to search the Internet for the exact world record distance: 241.95 kilometers set by Carter Johnson.

Kolodziejzyk relayed to his friend and timekeeper Greg Bradley that he had some leeway left to break the record.

"It's already pretty close. Just keep going," Bradley said.

But when the clock struck 9:30 a.m., Kolodziejzyk had the world record firmly in hand. His unofficial distance was just over 245 kilometers (152 miles).

Kolodziejzyk, his friends and family celebrated on the shore of Whitefish Lake afterward.

This is the second time Kolodziejzyk has established this world record.

Pedaling his high-tech trimaran for 24 hours left Kolodziejzyk physically and mentally drained. He could barely stand after accomplishing his feat.

Kolodziejzyk's previous 24-hour world records gave him the experience to get through this event. Long hours in a boat, near exhaustion, create a mental hurdle that can capsize a record attempt.

About 12 hours into the race, just after the sun had dipped below the horizon, Kolodziejzyk's body began to hurt.

"But then all the little aches and pains went away, and it got really good until around 20 hours," he said.

With his body cooperating and a calm lake, the night went better than he expected.

"I saw five shooting stars," Kolodziejzyk said. "They left smoke trails. It was a spectacular night."

This time, he also made an effort to be more friendly to his support crew when he got tired. He had watched old footage of his previous world record efforts and "thought I was a grump."

Kolodziejzyk expressed a lot of gratitude for his team's support.

"It's a team effort," he said. "Everyone here broke the record."

Kolodziejzyk said he didn't get too cranky until around the 22- to 23-hour mark. Fatigue had set in and he was having trouble eating food because his mouth was so dry.

He also was preoccupied. He constantly was figuring out the math in his head, and he was worried that the record was out of reach.

With 44 minutes left, he needed to complete one more six-kilometer loop to break the record. His average lap time was around 35 minutes.

"Am I going to break the record?" Kolodziejzyk asked through his radio. He sounded exhausted.

"You will break the record on the next lap," Pat Lor said from a chaser boat. "Then we're going to Disneyland!"

Timekeepers on a dock on the north shore of Whitefish Lake began to hoot and holler. His support team in two boats on the lake began shouting and honking horns, urging him to complete the final lap.

A rejuvenated Kolodziejzyk began to pick up speed. His pace went from 10 to 11 kilometers per hour.

At 9:14 a.m., he broke the world record and kept on going.

"Hey Greg, how many kilometers are you going to beat the record by?" his friend Ben Eadie asked.

"Probably a couple kilometers," Kolodziejzyk replied. He didn't sound tired anymore.

Now his boat was slicing through the water at 12 kph.

"Greg, you are amazing," his wife, Helen, called through the radio with three minutes left.

People on the boats counted down the last 10 seconds, and Eadie dropped a buoy to mark the exact location of Kolodziejzyk's final distance.

Kolodziejzyk put his hands on his head and coasted. Except for a five-minute stop to put on warmer clothes during the night, he had pedaled continuously for 24 hours.

There was no shouting or jumping up and down for him.

"All I could think about was how glad I was to be finished," Kolodziejzyk said. "I'm overjoyed that I'm not on the boat any more."

This world record is especially sweet for Kolodziejzyk because he didn't think he would be able to accomplish it. To beat Johnson's mark, he figured he would have to produce 20 percent more physical output than his last record.

Based on what he knew he could do based on an output of watts, he knew that it would be very close.

"The numbers didn't add up," he said.

Kolodziejzyk plotted his course on the lake and spent a stressful week leading up to the race. It was fitting that the first song he chose to listen to on his iPod was "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by The Ting Tings.

"The record, that's what I was here to do," Kolodziejzyk said. "I just hung on for dear life."

Kolodziejzyk, who owns two world records in a human-powered vehicle (a high-tech bicycle), has plans to pedal a boat across the Atlantic Ocean. His immediate goals, however, are to sleep, eat and maybe have a few beers.

If someone breaks his 24-hour record, will he try it again?

"Right after is never the time to ask that," Kolodziejzyk said. "I always say, 'I'm done.' I don't want to do it again.

"But I will. I will."

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com