Sue Bartfield, president of Blue Star Creative in Milwaukee, started kayaking 12 years ago on a whim.
“A friend of mine said we should try it, and so one day we did and now I’m hooked,” she said.
In the summer, Bartfield tries to kayak or compete in kayaking races at least four to five times a week. The bitter Wisconsin winters and the frozen Lake Michigan Harbor keep her out of the water in colder weather, but Bartfield has a kayaking machine she uses to stay in shape and enters her times in an online competition.
“It’s fun,” she said. “I really enjoy the competiveness.”
Bartfield was the first woman to finish in the marathon around northern Wisconsin’s Washington Island, and also was the first woman to finish in Chicago’s eight mile race.
Bartfield has attended symposiums and trained with kayakers from all over the world and has kayaked in various places across the globe as well.
She has nine different kayaks built for different water conditions, but doesn’t travel with her own.
“They are almost impossible to ship,” Bartfield said.
Despite the fact that she has suffered serious injuries as a result of kayaking, Bartfield plans to continue doing it as long as she can.
“Kayaking can be dangerous, really dangerous,” she said. “But it’s also fun and I find it terribly addicting.”
