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Cancer survivor paddles his way to championships
Oct. 9,
2012 |
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Peter Bradshaw, 47, of Longmeadow will compete in the World Stand Up Paddleboard Championships in Mexico on Nov. 3 and 4.
Reminder Publications submitted photo
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By Katelyn Gendron
katelyn@thereminder.com
LONGMEADOW — Qualifying for next month's World Stand Up Paddleboard Championships in Mexico was a happy accident for Peter Bradshaw, 47, of Longmeadow.
Bradshaw signed up for the Soundsurfer Waterman's Challenge on Long Island Sound in June, unaware that the competition was a national qualifier until the day of the race. He's only been participating in the sport since 2006 when he picked it up as a means of physical conditioning following treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
"The learning curve isn't steep at all. The sport [which requires used a canoe-like paddle to move through the water on what looks like a surf board] has only been around in mainstream for about six or eight years. After chemo and radiation I was trying to get my body back into some degree of physical fitness. It gave me the workout without the high degree of impact [on my body]," he explained, noting the considerable cost of the sport and equipment, which is why a fundraiser will take place on Oct. 15 at Backyard Bar and Grill in Enfield, Conn.
"My first competition was Run the Charles Canoe and Kayak Race [in Boston]; that was the first year that they let standup paddleboarders in the race. There were maybe five or six of us in 2009. I did several other races [since then] and most of them were canoe and kayak races and I'd show up and they'd just create another class for paddleboard. It was comical sometimes cause they'd say 'OK, you can race too,'" Bradshaw recalled.
When asked why she chose to organize the fundraiser for Bradshaw, Ruth Griffiths, a family friend, said she wanted to help give one of Wolf Swamp School's most beloved teachers a shot at the international title. Bradshaw and his wife Tracy are both teachers in Longmeadow Public Schools.
"He's such a strong guy. It was exciting to see how much paddleboarding helped him recover [from cancer treatment]. The kids at the school just love him, my kids love him," Griffiths said.
Backyard Bar and Grille, she noted, will donate 15 percent of the dinner sales to Bradshaw, who will be making the weekend trip with Tracy.
"We were looking not to completely deplete our meager savings account [by supplementing the costs with the fundraiser]," he said with a chuckle.
Bradshaw noted that before and after the Oct. 15 event he'll be training diligently with those at Attain Therapy + Fitness in East Longmeadow who've designed a regiment specifically for this race.
He said he hopes to do Longmeadow proud in Mexico on Nov. 3 and 4.
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