Arnel Aranton

“When my doctor advised me to take a rest from intense running due to my injury, I accepted the long-overdue invitation of my ultimate frisbee teammate to try dragon boating. After my first trial, I got the hype of the intense training and fell in love with the sport.

The Shanghai Race is my fondest and worst memory in dragon boat because it was my first time racing a 5 kilometer distance, but training in summer in Dubai, humidity is very high and temperature ranges from forty something or more. However, I feigned that I was okay, but deep inside it was mentally and physically challenging to pace the boat and think how to sustain for such a distance. Eventually, we ended up first and became the overall champions. I guess we owe it to the dreaded desert summer!”

[Arnel Aranton (Dubai, UAE & Philippines), paddler/founding member of Bakunawa Sea Serpent Dragon Boat Team.]

111