The Go Earn Your SALT Podcast Episode Transcript- Ep. 47- Merle Long- Canoe Slalom Olympic Hopeful

Merle Long: [00:00:00] You know, uh, trees and the river do not mix well.

Um, and there's been plenty of stories of, of good friends of mine paddling down, uh, rivers where they once again were just here the day before. There's a tree, uh, after some sort of feature, it could be some sort of drop, waterfall, whatever, uh, they do the waterfall, they drop, they get in, and then they go, you know, deep.

You do go under the water right before you pop back up. They go under the water, and they don't pop back up because there, there was a tree that fell in the day, the day before. They couldn't see it. They were just here, you

know

not six hours earlier or whatever. Um, and, you know, it just happened, and, and, and they passed away.

[00:01:00]

Riley: Today, I've got Merle Long. Merle and I know each other from the jujitsu world, um, becoming a common theme on this podcast. Uh, I know him through his dad, Tran, and we, um, we trained together for a while, and Merle has gotten into this, um... Well, what would- It's kayaking, but it's like race kayaking. What, what do you call it? What's the official name?

Merle Long: So it's, uh, the official name's canoe slalom. So it's, uh, canoe slalom, you go up and down these poles that hang across the river. Uh, you try to go as fast as you can, essentially. It's basically like, um, ski slalom, but on white water.

Riley: Yeah. Most of us only see it in the Olympics, right? We don't, we don't hardly see it outside of that,

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: I was really interested in this. I've watched Merle from the time he was kind of a, you know, teenage years become an adult, become this physical specimen, and kind of just [00:02:00] catch glimpse of, uh, glimpses of this as he comes into the jujitsu room once in a while and, and still beats me up even though he doesn't train as much as I do, I don't think.

But, uh, man, Merle, it's great to have you on here, dude. Welcome to the show.

Merle Long: Awesome. It's been a long time coming. I'm very excited. Whenever I heard... Oh, we were still in the old, um, Keith Gym when I believe we started doing these testing. My dad came out with these little tins of, uh, this little plastic tin of a bunch of different random powders, and he said, "Take these and see what you say...

See what it is." So, um, I quite-- I liked it, you know, ever since that then. So it's been a, definitely a long time coming, and I'm very, um, proud to have the opportunity to be on this podcast.

Riley: Oh, I love it. I did not, I didn't remember that you were part of the guinea pig early, early testers, man.

Merle Long: That's, right.

Riley: that was, uh, risky right.

Merle Long: That's right, yeah. No, they were good. They were good. I think my favorite was still blueberry, and I think it still is to this day, so yeah.[00:03:00]

Riley: Yeah.

Well, if you had blueberry, I might have given you some of that later, 'cause that one came along quite a bit later.

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: in fact, it's, it's really not supposed to be talked about quite yet 'cause it's not on the market yet, but I'm glad you like that one.

Merle Long: Beautiful.

Riley: I'm just teasing. It can be talked about all we want.

Merle Long: Awesome.

Riley: well, talk about you, Merle. Tell us who you are, where you grew up, what life was like as a kid

Merle Long: Yeah. So, um, I was born and raised in Idaho, uh, until about 2023, and then I moved to Australia Semi-permanently, uh, spending about, I would say, six to seven months out of the year in, in Australia. Less and less each year in, in Idaho, sadly. But growing up around Idaho, um, around the whitewater scene, my parents and, uh, my family owns a raft company, Cascade Raft and Kayak, up on the Payette River.

So growing up around there, uh, as well seeing my dad training for the Olympics, and my uncles at certain points training for the Olympics growing up, you know, [00:04:00] going to all of these races around the world, very lucky enough to, to at a young age be, um, to have access to such high levels of whitewater. Uh, training with my dad when he would be going over to World Cups and the World Championships, um, watching him paddle and sneaking on the whitewater then, to going back to Idaho and racing, uh, and, and paddling for fun, uh, down the Payette River, anywhere from class, you know, three to Class Five.

Um, it's, uh, very lucky. But growing up around such a big whitewater family, um, a lot of people, uh, the... It's a bit of a, a bit of a jump to move all the way across the world to Australia. But, um, I love it, and I've loved it, you know, ever since moving here. We've been coming here for quite a while, uh, since about 2015, I believe.

Uh, so, uh, but didn't, it took quite a while for us to make the big transition, especially me, big transition to move over here permanently by myself. So yeah, that's a, a [00:05:00] bit of a backstory on me.

Riley: Nice, man. Did you guys, uh, travel other places too? It seems like I remember hearing you tell stories about, you know, South America and, and different, different countries that you traveled and,

Merle Long: Yeah, that's right.

Riley: in.

Merle Long: Uh, I'm, yeah, very lucky enough to be able to travel, uh, quite frequently. Um, uh, ever since I was a child, we've been going down to Chile, uh, Pucón, down there in South America, to be able to, uh, paddle over there and teach people kayaking in the winters. So up until about 2015, 2016, we were going down every summer for one to three months to teach kayaking down in Chile, and broaden my, you know, my paddling horizons or scope down there.

Uh, and along with that, still traveling with my father, uh, to separate ICF, uh, ranking races or these World Cup events or World Championships. So I'd travel with him quite a, quite a bit around Europe when I was a lot younger to, [00:06:00] um, you know, mainly 'cause he doesn't wanna be lonely. But, uh, he won't but he won't admit it.

But, um, also to be able to paddle down there and, and, and travel around the world and, and paddle, uh, as much as I can, essentially. So yeah, very, very well traveled, luckily enough. And, you know, still going back to those exact same places when I was... You know, there's plenty of photos when I was, like, 11 or 12, uh, taking videos of my dad, you know, going down the river, and now I'm the one going down the river, so it's pretty, it's pretty funny.

Riley: Is, is He still, still paddling at

Merle Long: He still paddles, yeah. Um, I try to get him to a boat as much as, as much as I can get him into it. But most of the time, most of his time now is spent coaching. So he coaches the, um, Australian team, uh, the s- uh, senior kayak cross Australian team, and I'm a part of that as well. So he's, you know, down here pretty frequently, and he travels around, uh, Europe with the Australian team, uh, coaching.

But we still try to get him in and, uh, be our test [00:07:00] dummy for a lot of, a lot of new kayak cross techniques that we like to learn.

Riley: No, that's cool as crud. So just curious question, are you-- when you, when you get down to these places, uh, Chile to me seems like a really cool country. Like I-- Mountains are fascinating to me, and

Merle Long: Hmm.

Riley: I always worry about just going over there and getting into some guerrilla drug cartel though, so. But the point is, do You do you get over into these rivers in these countries where there's critters that you don't wanna come in contact with? Are you, uh... Is that happening?

Merle Long: You know, it's ... And I can reference Australia a lot more than, than, um, than Chile, I reckon. Uh, but the, they're, they're always here. Like, you know, it's always in the back of your mind. You know, you can go hiking or ... It's a, Australia's a beautiful country, especially where I live right now, which is at the base of the Blue Mountains, um, uh, right just to the west of Sydney, uh, in, in a little town called Penrith, um, uh, right to the base of what's called the Blue Mountains, which is this huge, uh, [00:08:00] you know, uh, mountain range, one of the biggest in Australia, and it's, it's gorgeous.

But every time you're hiking down there, you can see, you know, spiderwebs and stuff if you look hard enough. And so you know, you know that there's some stuff that can kill you around here. But, you know, you don't see it typically. You know, every once in a while you might see, most of the time, a, a snake crossing a path or something that'll kill you in, in 10 minutes crossing the path.

But, you know, a lot of times they don't come at you. As long as you're respectful of them, they're pretty respectful of you. And by respect, I mean scared of you, so.

Riley: Yeah. that's up on land, right? What about in the water, man? You get down there and

Merle Long: Yeah, so

Riley: where you're at?

Merle Long: not where I'm at, luckily. Um, I am, every once in a while, when I do a late night session when the sun starts to go down, I might be like, "If there's, there could, there could possibly be a crocodile in these waters." But luckily, it's not. Th- they're a lot more up north than we are, so up north, uh, near Brisbane.

Um, there are definitely some sharks and stuff like that, and I go surfing quite frequently as well. So, [00:09:00] um, uh, along with that comes, comes those, tho- those shark fears. But I've been lucky enough not to run into those, only dolphins, which is, which is lucky.

Riley: Only dolphins. No jellyfish, no, what they

Merle Long: may-

Riley: octopus. Those are down there too, aren't they?

Merle Long: luckily, I mean, you know, I can tell you instances where there were some jellyfish maybe up the shorts, but that's about it.

Riley: Oh.

Merle Long: That's right. Oof is right.

Riley: chafing, right?

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: Oh, my gosh. Um, what else did you say you went-- So you said chilling in Europe. So what, what's, uh, what's over in Europe? I guess I don't picture white water in Europe, although they, they, they naturally I guess would have it, like...

Merle Long: Yeah, fair. So the, a lot of the, a lot of where I train and race is man-made whitewater. So all of that is... It's pretty, it's a very old sport. So it first was in the Olympics in about the '40s. Um, and then it was there for a couple of seasons, uh, for the Olympics, and then [00:10:00] took a big break off and then came back.

Um, but it started way earlier than that. It was about the '20s when we started seeing those, uh, 1920s when we started seeing, uh, the early stages of slalom pop up. And the big hub was Europe. So it was a bus- it was a, it was a, you know, uh, sorta big, I guess you could say, for relative in America, but it was a, a lot bigger in Europe, and it's kinda festered since then.

So it's pretty deep in, in, in their, uh, culture. It's a lot more popular over there. So every country, um, at least, or, uh, every time, uh, no matter where you go in Europe, essentially, you're maybe a three-hour drive from a, a World Cup or World Championship level course, where it's a lot different in, in America, where, you know, you could be days from one, or there might not even be one in some countries.

But Europe, it's very, very popular. So, um, most of my season when I'm racing is, is spent over there. So, uh, this year I was [00:11:00] selected into the under-23 and senior team, so that means I'll be racing each one of the five World Cups, as well as the under-23 World Championships and the Senior World Championships.

So the first three World Cups are in, uh, Slovenia, and then it's, uh, Prague, and then, uh, Germany. So that's the first three World Cups, and then, uh, that'll be maybe, that'll take about three weeks to do. And then heading over to Kraków, Poland, which will be the place with, for the under-23 World Championships, and then going straight from there over to America in Oklahoma City, which will have the, uh, Senior World Championships.

And then coming back to, uh, then coming back to, uh, uh, Australia after about a month and a half or so, uh, staying here for about three weeks, and then going back to Europe for more racing, which will be Paris and then, uh, and then, uh, [00:12:00] Spain for the last two World Cups.

Riley: City, man, that is definitely not somewhere I picture whitewater. So that, that has to be a man-made course, I'd

Merle Long: Yes, definitely man-made. So all of those, all of those are all man-made courses.

Riley: So how do they do that? Is that, um, is it pump-driven or do, or do they just divert the river and then have a course built out of that, or what--

Merle Long: So it actually, it act-- it does both, yeah. So, uh, for example, Prague, uh, Augsburg, as well as Tatten. So all those first three World Cups, all of those, they, uh, essentially made a channel off of, like you said, a main river, and then used that water to, uh, you know, pump water down the course essentially, uh, adding these bollards, uh, which are these features, these essentially, um, big plastic tubes that are, yeah, basically big plastic tubes that they drill into the ground, and then that'll divert the water.

You can make features out of it. And then depending on the gradient, et cetera, um, you can make a, a pretty fun course. So, uh, all those three are all [00:13:00] derived from main, uh, main channels of a, of a river. But, uh, for example, Oklahoma City, they have a enclosed course, so it is... it's next to a river, but is not connected to it at any, at any point.

Um, it is a, you know, essentially a big pool with a big lazy river on top of it. So they pump the water up to the top, and then it runs down the course, uh, you know, through these features that they man-made, you know, man-created, essentially, hits back to the bottom into this big pool, and then it gets pumped up to the top again.

Riley: It's like a really wide hydro tube is what it is,

Merle Long: That's right. Exactly it.

Riley: That is cool, man. I, I guess I really had no idea. I know here in the Boise River in town, they put in that water park. It's-- But it's pretty small. Just a couple features, right? But

Merle Long: Yeah, yeah.

Riley: go down there and surf and

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly. It's a, it's a way bigger, you know, extreme for the, for, uh, a man-made canoe slalom course. So, uh, yeah, there's a couple different ways they can do it, but like, yeah, for example, most of the time, in about, [00:14:00] I guess I would say about 50/50, uh, half of them are that derive, derived from that big, uh, that big river, and then the other half, like here in Penrith or Oklahoma City or Paris, they're all a confined, um, lazy river essentially.

Riley: Oh, that's so cool, man.

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: So you're growing up. When, when did you start, start, uh, whitewater sports? I mean, you-- 'cause your family was in it, right? Were you just, Just tiny, tiny?

Merle Long: Just doing it. There's plenty of photos and, you know, I can... If you wanna add it to the podcast, I can send it to you. But there's a photo of me,

Riley: it.

Merle Long: asleep in my dad's lap while he's, while he's paddling. So it's just him in this kayak. I'm on his lap when I'm maybe two years old, and I'm fast asleep.

So, um, there was, there's plenty of instances. And then growing up at about four, um, uh, essen- basically, you know, sitting on the back of his kayak, holding onto his life jacket while we'd go down the river. And then hitting about six, I get into my own [00:15:00] kayak. Um, just, you know, my whole family did it, especially down in Chile.

That's essentially all you do. You know, you do school and you go paddling. You g- do school, go paddling. That's, um, essentially the, the day-to-day down there. So, um, there was a lot of opportunity to grow And that's kind of where I fell in love with it. Um, there's, you know, uh, there's so many beautiful rivers in Chile, ranging from, you know, class one all the way up to the biggest class five.

So there's plenty... You know, there's not, not a lack of white water, for sure. So, uh, very lucky enough to be able to grow up there and to, and to learn on such a river. But yeah, it's basically, you know, my whole family was doing it. My cousin Kyler, uh, he and I were only a year apart and kind of growing at the same time.

We started, we started at the same point. So we were, um, we were kind of learning together, and so that's kind of what kept me, kept me going, is just, you know, a progression with somebody else I think helped a lot. But also having my whole entire family, um, uh, [00:16:00] you know, helping me and, and, and teaching me was definitely, was definitely nice.

Yeah.

Riley: you, uh-- I imagine, uh, it's like anybody who grows up in something, right? You have to get bit by the bug yourself, you know. So when did that happen for you?

Merle Long: So there was... I mean, you know, I'm sure my dad has told you, or my dad can preach that there was a lot of, you know, bumps in the road, for sure. Um, there was a lot of bribing. There was a lot of bribing. There was a lot of, "If you do this, I'll buy you an ice cream," or something along those lines. So, uh, definitely a lot of bribing.

That's how you, that's how you, you know, get somebody to do it without getting bit by the bug, I guess. But, um, I, I assume... I, I... There wasn't, uh, a pinpoint, but, uh, I, I reckon it was about nine or 10 when I started to do a lot more paddling by myself with, you know, mates or just with people I met, um, or with, you know, [00:17:00] people that, you know...

When I did it with my family, it was more of like a family event. I... You know, you're your own person, but, um, it was, it was... There was nothing... It's kind of hard to explain, but, um, uh, it felt like I had to do it, essentially.

Riley: Mm-hmm.

Merle Long: felt like I had to do it. But then, you know, you start meeting people, you start, you know, uh, chatting with people, whatever, and, uh, you start to learn that you could kind of be good at this.

You know,

Riley: Yeah.

Merle Long: whether it be, slalom or white water, and you know, I enjoy bo- both greatly. Um, but, uh, yeah, I started getting better and better at both of them, you know, the canoe slalom aspect, which is the racing, and as well as the white water aspect, which is, you know, just running these big, uh, big white water in, uh, plastic kayaks.

So, um, the, uh, the... I kinda learned that I can kinda be good at this, and so that definitely helped, helped with that whole thing. [00:18:00] So, um, I guess it was probably about nine or 10 when I started doing my own slalom races, started, you know, going on my own, uh, paddling by myself or with my cousins, and yeah, it just kinda, kinda got the ball rolling

Riley: Oh, that's cool, man. think that's, uh... There's that place I, I, I deal with that with my youngest son in jujitsu, right? And, and probably Danny too. You know, you know Danny.

Merle Long: Mm-hmm.

Riley: I don't ever want to push my thing on them, right? I, I'm kind of just a jujitsu nerd, right?

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: and, uh, I want those guys being involved 'cause I want them to know how to take care of themselves.

Merle Long: Hmm.

Riley: But also, man, I just, I hope all the time they get bit by the bug,

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: Danny, I think, kinda has. Um, Simon, my youngest, is still kinda in that like, "Oh, I'm doing it 'cause Dad wants me to do it," stage. But how did, uh, how'd that dynamic work with you and your father and, and, uh, he keep a pretty good balance there?

Merle Long: Yeah, I mean, um, uh, you know, in all honestly, I... In all, all honesty, [00:19:00] I kind of ruined it for my family, 'cause whenever my dad would say to do it, I would, I would just do it. Um, so, like, if he was like, you know, "Hey, we're going paddling tomorrow," if, you know, I wanna hang out with him, my cousin Kyler was also doing it.

Um, so if he was doing it, then sure, I'll go. Like, obviously I was, you know, you know, pooping my pants, but, you know, uh, at least not on the outside. But, um, with that sort of dynamic, I think it helped having somebody who was also progressing with me, being my cousin. Um, and you know, the reason I say I kind of ruined it for my whole family is 'cause my younger brother and younger sister are not like that.

They, they, they uh... My dad did the same approach, which he was like, "You're just..." He just told them to do it. And where I would just do it, they have... You know, it kind of, you know, maybe ruined it a little bit for them. So, um, I think everybody's just a bit different, but for me and my father, it was, you know, um, there was just something there.

I, I, I'm not sure how to explain it, but it was something, [00:20:00] there was something driving me that would want me to do that, whether that be wanting to, you know, hang out or, or be with my family, 'cause if you wanted to, uh, the whole family would go and paddle all together. So it'd be about eight to 10 people on the wa- on the water, so it'd be a more of a family event.

And you know, that's always fun, so I would always wanna go there. And then once we started progressing, uh, once I started progressing in the white water aspect, um, it was always a, you know, me and Kyler were doing it together, and I had somebody to, to help me out through it. So, uh, the, that absolutely helped, I reckon.

Um, yeah. I think it's mostly the, the progression with somebody else is what kind of

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: me over that line to get bit by the bug.

Riley: I that's important man I watch guys in the in the gym do that all the time where they come in and they're solo they generally don't last too long But if they buddy up with some other guys at their same stage [00:21:00] they just do

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: they they thrive off each other and feed off each other and

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly.

Riley: other right

Merle Long: That's right. So I think that's definitely, that's definitely what, what- What, uh, helped me start from such a young age and, and, and wanna progress at such a young age was that development with s- with somebody else.

Riley: Does um your cousin Kyler is he down there in Australia with you

Merle Long: He comes down, uh, two, one to two months out of the year, typically in January, February. Uh, that's when we have a lot of our races but, uh, he's still racing for America. Uh, he was selected for the, for the senior team for Kayak Cross this year, so he'll be racing, um, the last two World Cups and, and, and doing a bit of the season.

So, uh, we're a bit further apart than we have been in the past. Typically, before I switched to the Australian team, we were training together daily and everything, but now we're a bit further apart, but still, you know, on the [00:22:00] season, on the circuit, we're still training together. So he's, uh... We're still progressing.

Riley: Yeah But who who's who's faster

Merle Long: Me. Obviously. Oh, yeah.

Riley: I

Merle Long: Oh, yeah. That's right.

Riley: Well what um when did the desire to compete hit you man Cause that's you know now you're you're talking about kind of getting bit by the white water bug but all of a sudden competing's a different thing right Where

Merle Long: Yeah. And, and those are the, the getting bit by, you know, the bug of whitewater and, um, you know, creaking and all this stuff is completely different, like you said, to that slalom. So it's completely different to that wanting to race, wanting to race, and, um, essentially a whole different sport. So where whitewater is mainly, you know, big moves with- in, in a, in a plastic kayak, trying to, instead of go down as fast as you can, just get down.

Um, where canoe [00:23:00] slalom is, uh, in a, in a carbon fiber boat, trying to go down these poles that hang across the wa- river. It's a pretty silly looking sport, to be honest, but it's great. Um, the, uh, trying to go down a set course, so it's the same course you've been doing, you've been training on for the past month leading up to a race.

Uh, it's a different, you know... They set the course differently, so they set the gates at different spots than what you were training at. Um, but trying to get down as fast as you can, and where the difference between first and 10th is within two seconds. Um, very, very tight margins. One to five is typically within one second.

Riley: Hmm

Merle Long: so it's, it's, it's down to those, you know, uh, milliseconds, uh, between, you know, that first and third. So trying to get down as fast as you can, that's completely different than, than that whitewater scope. So you can definitely carry, uh, technique from either side, uh, back and forth but, you know, [00:24:00] uh, the, yeah, absolutely completely different sports.

For the slalom bug, um, I was Probably a bit, uh, at about the same time, I would think. Um, probably that, maybe a bit later, that 10, 11, where, once again, I started racing more, um, pa- uh, you know, seeing my dad race more and, m- uh, paddling on all these courses, uh, you know, all around the world. These, these canoe slalom courses made me, you know, sit in the culture, and I started meeting people, and it's kinda the same process with white water.

You know, you, you, you... Kaila was also progressing through it, so I also progressed through it, and then we started making, you know, these junior-level teams or these club-level teams, and then started winning those club races, and then progressed up to those, you know, uh, junior team selections for the national team for, uh, America, and then started winning those.

And then, so you're trying to see a pr- [00:25:00] seeing... And then going overseas and, you know, starting to do well at other races. So I think it's the, the progression between, um, "Oh, this is kind of, you know, the, this is kind of fun," into, "Wait, this can, I can kind of, I can kinda do this well." I think that's kind

Riley: Yeah

Merle Long: maybe around about 11 or 12, where that, you know, that switch flicked and I started, I started, you know, putting a lot more effort into it.

Riley: Yeah man So today now People don't know this You're you're in Australia right now We're we're hours apart if I remember right

Merle Long: Yep.

Riley: it's morning the next day for you from where I'm at So I'm on evening on the 13th here uh morning the 14th

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: um what does training look like man You're You said you got done doing some s some uh exercise some technique stuff

Merle Long: Yep.

Riley: all in the water or do you do some weight training some other

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: of [00:26:00] thing also

Merle Long: So, um, typically, uh, my day's pretty stacked at the moment. Uh, I'm going to school for nursing, um, as well as trying to, uh, as well as working and training three times a day. So, typically, it's I wake up at about six o'clock, um, have breakfast, uh, maybe a coffee, whatever it may be, stretch. Uh, and then depending on my recovery score the next day, uh, on my Morpheus app, uh, I might take a cold plunge, just to shock my body really fast.

And then I'll head to the course at about seven o'clock in the morning, um, warm up, uh, get the blood pumping, uh, do a course walk. And then, depending on the session plan, typically it'll be, you know... For example, this morning, it was called, uh, Quarters. So we take one full length run, which typically takes about 90 seconds in slalom

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: we cut [00:27:00] that into quarters, and then we try to do each bit as fast as we can.

So sometimes it's on the clock, sometimes it's not. This morning it wasn't on the clock, so we were kinda... It was mostly a, a technique driven. So we, uh, once again set a course, uh, a little bit before, and then we do that course throughout the hour. Training, uh, up until eight o'clock where I hop off, uh... Oh, I apologize.

Up until nine o'clock. I start the session at 8:00. Up until about nine o'clock, um, and then hop off the river, uh, and, uh, go up to my, you know, what's called the NCE, the center of excellence. Uh, have a bit, uh, a bit of a post-session snack. Might do a bit of video review. Uh, head back home, uh, you know, chill out a little bit, uh, maybe do some computer work.

I then head, you know, I might head back to the course for either another flat water conditioning or to the NCE f- uh, for a gym [00:28:00] session. So depending on the day, typically I'll do a afternoon white... or a flat water conditioning or a gym, uh, you know, lifting weights. Uh, come back to the house, do a, a bit more work, or, or I might go, uh, and work at the, the stadium, which is where I train.

I might... I also work as a raft guide there, uh, or I'll teach wilderness first aid classes, which is that, that's what I always al-also do when I'm down here. Um, but that's typically, I'll work in the afternoon and then go back to the course in the evening, typically around 4:30. Uh, do kayak cross training.

So, uh, kayak cross is, uh, a sport that, uh, you essentially start on a ramp like this with four people.

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: drops out from underneath you, and you all go down the, the ramp. Um, it's a bit like motocross. You, you run into each other. Uh, you try to go around these big buoys that hang across the river and try to make it down, uh, first.

[00:29:00] So, uh, we typically do that training in the afternoon, uh, and then, uh, progress, uh, for about an hour. Sometimes, you know, depending on the session, it could be head-to-head, which is a, you know, f- doing fighting drills or time trial, which is a individual, uh, you know, a bit more like slalom, individual laps.

Uh, and then from there, three times a week, I'll head over to university. Uh, after that session, uh, stay at university for about three hours, drive back and get, try to get nine or eight hours of sleep.

Riley: Dang man So describe this to me You're uh yeah obviously going super hard

Merle Long: Mm.

Riley: several different types of training in there So uh one of them was flat water training What what do you do in that Describe that to us

Merle Long: So the... That's more of a conditioning session So that is, uh, where the first, the first one and the last one I explained, those are all on the whitewater course. [00:30:00] Um this one is on a flat, so on a, essentially a lake. Um, and that is mainly conditioning, uh, driven, whether that be, you know, uh, this bands workout that I do where I essentially tie myself up in a big, uh, you know, uh, what, in a big rubber band and then paddle against the big rubber band or, you know, uh, different Tabata drills that I do, um, with a timer, with a Metronome, whatever it may be.

It... Those ones are mainly focused conditioning. And then, or in the afternoon, I might do weight training, which, uh, my strength and conditioning coaches, uh, will facilitate.

Riley: So can a kayaker legitimately skip leg day Is that okay for you guys

[00:31:00]

Merle Long: Uh, yes. Why do you think I do it?

Riley: I wasn't accusing I'm

Merle Long: Hey,

Riley: at all I just

Merle Long: you know, you know my triangles. You have, like, you have, like, 15 seconds before my legs blow out, so, you know, everybody, everybody at the gym knows, you just hold on, and you just, you know, thug it out for them 15 seconds, then my legs blow out with any triangles, so yeah.

Riley: relatively safe place to hang out

Merle Long: That's right. Exactly.

Riley: the other the other training [00:32:00] method you mentioned was fight training What i what is what is that

Merle Long: So at the moment, uh, the, uh, for a kayak cross in the evening, you were saying?

Riley: Yeah yeah

Merle Long: Okay. Yeah, so that one, uh, is the, uh... There's two different kind of ways that we can train kayak cross, and that we do, is, uh, one is a individual. So, uh, it's an individual run by yourself, uh, trying to get down the course as fast as you can in a kayak cross boat, in a kayak cross setting.

Um, or, uh, you can do a head-to-head fighting drill. So that's essentially because a kayak cross is a, is a head-to-head, man-on-man sport, um, we'll do different drills of how to a-attack and defend certain, um, certain ways and drilling those out, or we might do race simulators. So we'll do a bracket format, and, uh, we'll run with each other and, uh, you know, do a full-length run where we try to, uh, run into each other and [00:33:00] try to make it down the first and, and try to implement those drills that we worked on.

Uh, so yeah, that's kind of, kind of what it looks like. Doing a lot of fighting drills one-on-one or, you know, two-on-one, or whatever it may be, uh, just trying to implement defending and attacking drills into, into a kayak cross setting.

That's right. That's a legal set. Yeah. It, it definitely happens, and some people wear these full face Um, guards. Some people wear a mouth guard. Um, I don't wear any of it. But, uh, the-- there, you definitely can take a paddle to the face, you could take a boat to the face. You can take, you know, whatever, uh, a fist to the face.

But it's all, that's all illegal. So what is permitted is boat-on-boat contact. You can run into each other via boat. Um, if by chance, uh, it, it was no fault to either participant, uh, something like that does happen, um, [00:34:00] if it's the, if the judges permitted a accident, then it is allowed. But if, you know, for example, if I was to...

Someone was defending it up and, and sideways, they were in, uh, a slow-moving current in an eddy, and I jumped my boat up and just ran them into the face, uh, to get them out of my way, you know, obviously that is not permitted. Uh, if I was going to take my hand off my paddle and pull him backwards or push him in, um, that is also not permitted.

But, uh, if I was going to, uh, push his boat in deep, or if we're paddling with each other like this down the river and I was going to push him over into a rock, that would be fine because my boat is, uh, you know, it's boat on boat. Um, uh, they shouldn't be next to me. That's their fault. Um, no, but the, uh... So it's, it's a bit, it's, and it's a very new sport.

Uh, the, it only started in about 2017, which is where the ICF started implementing it into their World Cups, and only in the p- I would say about [00:35:00] four years or so, three or four years, people started taking it very seriously. So before, it was a bit of, you know, everybody does slalom and then does cross, you know, after the afterparty and, you know, uh, after the World Cups, whatever.

Um, but now there are kayak cross only athletes, um, where they only trace kayak, train kayak cross and whatnot. So, um, there is-- it's definitely-- the sport is still developing. The sport is still developing. Uh, but the, so the, the rules and regulations are still, um, a little, not as, uh, not as, what am I looking for?

Uh, not as apparent, I guess. I guess you can kinda say that. The, the, they, they have rules, but the way they implement them could be differently, different, you know uh, throughout the course. But there are, there is a blanket set of rules where you can't, you know, punch each other in the face, you can't do all this stuff.

So, um, but yeah, mainly it is boat-on-boat [00:36:00] contact.

Riley: I think that's that's that would be a fun one to watch man I

Merle Long: Absolutely.

Riley: just sounds like it would be a you know easy for the the audience to understand right

Merle Long: That's right. And, and, you know, uh, the first time in the Olympics was 2024, so it was the, it was in the Olympics in 2024 in Paris. Um, and they saw a huge jump in viewership Uh, compared to slalom, which is once again a, a very, uh, old sport, they saw a big jump in, uh, viewership. Uh, almost 300,000 more people were watching, uh, kayak cross because once again, like you said, you can understand it a lot easier.

There's a clear winner at the end. Um, everybody loves violence even if they don't a- want to admit it. Um, so everybody loves seeing these two guys run into each other. Uh, the cross ramp is really, really cool. Um, it's a bracket format, easy to understand for everyone. Two people make it through all the way up to the finals where, you know, the, you got the one, two, [00:37:00] three.

Where compared to, uh, canoe slalom, uh, it is a, a heat semifinal final- heat semifinals finals, which is kinda easy to understand. But once you're watching it, you know, you have to have experience in the sport to understand the nuance between each runs. So everybody's doing the exact same course by themselves.

In canoe slalom, it, it is person versus the course, where, uh, kayak cross is person versus person. So, uh, it's a lot easier to understand, you know, that guy ran that guy into a rock, versus he used his right, uh, tail edge to pull himself into that jump stroke a lot easier, and then he had that punt off that rock.

So it's like the, the dichotomy is, is, is, um, a lot different and, like you said, c- uh, kayak cross is definitely a lot easier to understand.

Riley: Yeah Yeah sounds fun man I didn't even know that was a thing so this is this is exciting to me to hear

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: well listen between [00:38:00] uh you know training and travel and school and all that What how are you juggling all that man

Merle Long: Barely. No. There's, uh, there's, there's time. So, um, for me, uh, the, what I kinda hold to, hold onto is my off time. So I just came, uh, right after team selections, which was in February, uh, I went over to America, and I had about three weeks off. Didn't do any school. Um, my girlfriend came with me. Uh, I, we didn't, you know, we just chilled out.

I was... Saw family, saw friends, all that stuff. Stayed there for about a week, came back to Australia. You know, had two more weeks off where, you know, all we did was just hang out. Uh, I would go to jujitsu. Um, luckily, I'd go to some boxing classes. I'd do things that I enjoy. We'd go hiking. And then we [00:39:00] head back into the season, you know, uh, going full swing.

Uh, so in the off season, uh, in the off times, uh, we have about a month, uh, where I maybe I do, uh, typically I do one session a day, just keeping in touch with slalom, just keeping in touch with all the stuff. So, uh, you know, not going completely cold turkey Um, I don't know, I don't think I could do that. But, uh, you know, keeping in touch with the SALT, maybe doing one session a day, but the rest of the time having time off.

Uh, where now I'm in full swing, three sessions a day, university, and work, um, up until about September, which I'll take another month off doing one session a day, going back to juj- jujitsu, you know, seeing friends, all that stuff, um, being, being a, a, a real person. And then after that, um, slowly moving into a, uh, into back into training for another team selections.

So, uh, [00:40:00] the having a big line in the sand between, um, you know, this is when I, this is when I'm full swing, three sessions a day, all that stuff, into now I chill out, you know, get off, you know, lean off the diet a little bit, you know, go have fun, uh, you know, go do your hobbies, uh, and trying to take some time off.

That's, that's kind of where, you know, I sit and, and get to reevaluate essentially. And the ki- think that's kinda how you juggle it all.

Riley: That's um I think recovery time is pretty necessary man You're running pretty hard schedule I

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: athletics people don't see right They see you on game day but they don't see you the behind-the-scenes day-to-day looks like And

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: by it man I know you know talking to your dad over the years and kind of hearing little insights of what

Merle Long: So [00:41:00] the...

Riley: one time and I can't remember if I heard it from him or from from somebody that heard it from him But he was talking about a test they used to do where you guys would have to pull um and it was like a qualification and there was a certain amount of weight that had to be pulled over a duration of time in order to even qualify for for the team And I I don't know if that rings a bell with you but when I heard the numbers then it was shocking But

Merle Long: Yeah. Um, yeah, there's a, the-- it sounds like, uh, I believe that there was a bit of, um, miscommunication there. Um,

Riley: been

Merle Long: yeah,

Riley: only Like I said it's been a while since I heard it and

Merle Long: yeah.

Riley: remember it well

Merle Long: We do testing, so, uh, we go into, uh, NSWIS, uh, New South Wales Institute of Sport. We do VO2 max testing, we do, uh, DEXA scan, you know, tests. We do, uh, all of this aerobic testing, everything, uh, under the sun, essentially, [00:42:00] and that's when we can do

Riley: do you measure

Merle Long: those weight pulls and stuff like that.

Uh, and so we, uh... That's definitely a, a part of that. Uh, it's not driv- derived from a team selection standpoint, but we do assessments every three months or so. Uh, we do, you know, lactic testing, et cetera To, uh, try to, uh, make sure that we're still progressing through our workouts, you know, what we're doing is still working, et cetera.

So, uh, he was probably doing one of them, but yeah, they're, they're a pain in the butt. I hate those.

Riley: amount When when you really pull on a paddle man what how much how much power are you generating there

Merle Long: So

Riley: weight or you How do you how do you measure that

Merle Long: uh, I've never done ... So the, the test that he was talking about, that's a, a bit of an older test. Uh, we don't really do those anymore. A lot of times we're doing lactic testing now, VO2 max testing, uh, and stuff like that. Um, but the, yeah, the ... You [00:43:00] definitely, you definitely drive quite a bit of, quite a bit of weight down the course, but yeah.

Riley: Y-yes but you don't have a measurement or a a

Merle Long: I don't have a measurement, sadly, no. I don't. I wish I did.

Riley: me cause I I remember hearing it and I was like Oh my gosh dude I don't think I could do that one time let alone repeatedly for

Merle Long: Mm. Yeah.

Riley: he talked about And again I I don't know any detail there

Merle Long: Yeah, fair. Um, I mean, the, uh, the only, like, thing I can really think of, uh, is one of, one of the workouts that we do is, uh, some sort of, uh, some sort of, uh, dumbbell row. So one of the things is we do is, uh, dumbbell row, um, for three seconds on ... Or I apologize, uh, one rep, wait three seconds, one rep, w- wait three seconds.

We do that for about a minute and a half, so it ends up being, you know, quite a bit of reps. Uh, and then typically for that workout, I'll do about [00:44:00] 50 kilos, which is 120 pounds, uh, on one arm, so quite a bit.

Riley: That's impressive man That's impressive more than my bench press you know that

Merle Long: That's right. That, yeah. The, the, you know, the funny bit is, is my, I'm not sure if it's my dad's fault, genetics or what, but my bench press is more than my, uh, bench pull, which in a pulling sport is not good. So something, some ... That's right. Something along the lines, you know, the wires crossed and, yeah, not good.

My strength and conditioning coach is not happy.

Riley: Maybe just sit the other way in the boat

Merle Long: That's right. That's what I said. I said, "You know, I'll just sit the other way. I'll just paddle backwards."

Riley: Yeah

Merle Long: Exactly.

Riley: gosh man I love it So when you're um been traveling along these foreign countries especially I I I really think South America have you ever had any [00:45:00] dangerous things happen Not as far as wildlife like I mentioned before but people

Merle Long: For me, no. Um, I'm very lucky enough to be able to skirt that line. Uh, I went into Chile a lot younger. I'm sure if you asked my, my dad that same question, he would tell you all the stories about Him in Brazil, uh, where he's, you know, riding back from jujitsu on his bike and, uh, you know, he was told to not stop no matter what because they will rob you.

And, you know, all these stories from, from him, and I'm sure there's plenty of stories with, you know, uh, that involve me, but I've don- I either don't remember them or lucky enough to avoid them. Um, you know, there's, uh... And even in, in, in Europe, uh, I'm pretty well-traveled and understand where to not go and where to go.

I got plenty of friends overseas that, you know, sh- uh, shepherd me around and tell me where to go and where to not go. So luckily, [00:46:00] I have been able to skirt that line. Um, but, um, it, the peace of mind to having the, my jujitsu and, and a bit of boxing background definitely, definitely helps a little bit. Yeah.

Riley: Definitely helps in that

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: Did you get your purple belt yet

Merle Long: No. I've, I've been... The, that's the issue, is that I don't go for three months, and then I'll go really hard for two months. Then I won't go for three months, and so I keep getting this cycle where I'm just stuck.

Riley: That was funny cause we always would talk about that with your dad You know he would come in and he'd have been off for six months and he'd show up one night and still beat the crap out of us He was like Come on do you not even have rust

Merle Long: That's right. Yeah, exactly. He always talks about the two days. You have two days to beat him once he comes back, and then after that, he's, he's... The rest is off, so I, I like to think it's a some

Riley: sure it was two days man cause I Yeah I think it was two minutes I

Merle Long: about to say maybe 20 minutes when he walks through the door if you sneak up behind him, but yeah.

Riley: Yeah

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: Merle have you ever had uh any [00:47:00] close calls in the river Ever got stuck

Merle Long: Personally, no. Um, I work on the... So I've been an EMT since I was about 16. When I'm in America, I work on, uh, the ambulance there and, you know, help people off, getting cars out of the river, getting boats out of the river, all that stuff. For me, I've been very... I'm a safety-conscious person. It might be because, you know, my dad's also an EMT.

He used to work on the ambulance. I learned from him, and then being in that same exact... In, in that world, seeing all that stuff, um, luckily for me, I've stayed pretty safe. There's been plenty of concussions, plenty of, uh, falling on rocks, plenty of silly, of silly mistakes. But funny enough, all of that comes of, uh, all that comes from out of the water.

So I've never...

Riley: there

Merle Long: Luck...

Riley: Go

Merle Long: Somehow, I, I'm, I, I have the... A lot of my family calls me a hippopotamus 'cause, you know, super crazy in water, you [00:48:00] know? Uh, sup- very safe, you know, dangerous, whatever, and then as soon as I step out of water, I'm just as, just slow and clumsy, so that's right. Um, but yeah, luckily, yeah, luckily, I've been able to, luckily, I've been able to, to skirt that line

Riley: It uh I imagine it lends a lot to the fact that you've been around it since you were a child right But understanding the river and what obstacles are dangerous and approaches would be dangerous and that sort of a thing It probably keeps you safe

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly. I've had, you know, plenty of close calls where I have almost gone into a feature that, you know, has held people to, um, you know, uh, to their death essentially. Um, I've been, you know, almost into features where I was told to not go 'cause there is a sieve where essentially water goes under, uh, under rocks or through rocks and can let water through, but not, not, uh, objects.

[00:49:00] Um, so there've been plenty of close calls like that, uh, whether it be overseas in, you know, the middle of, uh, Czech Republic, you know, with some guys I just met two days ago and, and, and one guy I met, you know, uh, a few months ago. Uh, so there's been plenty of stuff like that. Um, but most of the people I run with, um, uh, have...

are safety conscious and at least, uh, and know when to call it quits. So yeah.

Riley: You know when you Myself and a friend of mine one time took a just a regular canoe down the Boise River and we floated from uh from Barber Park all the way down to Eagle Road Bridge

Merle Long: Hmm.

Riley: And there's several places you have to carry the kayak in that But we got in this one situation talk about a sieve there was a tree had fallen across the the river and the channel went right through this tree And I don't know what was going on in his head He was in the front of the canoe I was in the back But he kept [00:50:00] saying Paddle And I'm like No we need to like freaking paddle that way and get off this thing cause that tree's gonna k we're

Merle Long: Yep.

Riley: it man If that tree catches us we're dead

Merle Long: Yep.

Riley: know and it was it was like early March you know it was still cold and

Merle Long: There's... Yep, definitely.

Riley: but I'll finish the story here in

Merle Long: Oh, sorry. You, you go. You, you, you go. I didn't mean to cut you off.

Riley: Well so right right when uh right when we get off there so there's this like shallow area that we were floating through and then it starts to converge kind of into a narrow and then it goes into this

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: and I'm like Stop dude And so I just jumped out of the boat and I grabbed the the handle on the back of the kayak or the canoe just before we went into the deep water and just started dragging him back upstream And at first he was really mad at me man He was upset that I you know slowed his his momentum But I'm like once once we kinda got back to an angle where he a chance to breathe and calm down he was he realized how much [00:51:00] danger he put us in And I'm like Dude we uh That's th that's some scary stuff and I'm talking like much smaller river than what you're talking about

Merle Long: It's, it's a tale as, as old as time. You know, uh, trees and the river do not mix well. I mean- You know, uh, there's been plenty of instances of, uh, in the summers, uh, especially when I was a bit younger, safety kayaking down, you know, Class IV, where we take rafts, uh, and I'm in a little, I'm in a kayak, uh, trying to essentially one instance, uh, scope out the river, making sure nothing, you know, big has changed, rocks, trees, whatever.

As well as making sure that I can get the people that fall out of the raft back to the raft, um, in, in, in a safe and orderly fashion. Uh, and there's been plenty of instances of me rounding a corner, I was here not 12 hours, like, you know, later than I was the, the day before, and there once again, big storm the night before, tree in the river, [00:52:00] and we have to pull out, you know, walk around the tree, get back in, and then radio it in.

Um, and there's been plenty of stories of, of good friends of mine paddling down, uh, rivers where they once again were just here the day before. There's a tree, uh, after some sort of feature, it could be some sort of drop, waterfall, whatever, uh, they do the waterfall, they drop, they get in, and then they go, you know, deep.

You do go under the water right before you pop back up. They go under the water, and they don't pop back up because there, there was a tree that fell in the day, the day before. They couldn't see it. They were just here, you

know

not six hours earlier or whatever. Um, and, you know, it just happened, and, and, and they passed away.

So, uh, trees and rivers never mix well. They never go no... Get, never go together, so trying to be safety conscious and, and it is, no matter what, you could have, it could be the safest river. You just did this. You've been doing this since you were, you know, [00:53:00] a baby, and it can always be very dangerous, so yeah.

Riley: Well you you spoke earlier about doing a course walk right That's great on the man-made courses but what do you do for wi uh you know out in the wild out in the in the backcountry rivers

Merle Long: Yeah, so there's sadly, um, there's not much that you can do, uh, preemptively. The, the, the main thing is, uh, scouting. It's what's called scouting, where you pull off right before some sort of, uh, area where you would think there might be danger or right before a big, uh, rapid, where you pull out, you bring your boat up, set it on the bank, and then you can walk up, whether it be, you know, the, uh, the river line or up the mountain to scope out and look at the rapid, making sure that there's no no nothing crazy that happened the day before or whatever.

And typically, even on, you know, even on, on things that we did the day before, uh, if there was a big storm or if there was a possibility that some sort of tree would've fell, uh, [00:54:00] we will do that regardless of, uh, you know, even if we've done this a billion times. So doing that and being preemptive is, is, is definitely, uh, a big part of that.

So yeah, pulling this boat to the side of the river, scouting it And then getting back in and making sure that it's all good to go.

Riley: Yeah talking about trees falling over but sometimes logs just float downstream and get wedged too right

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly. That too.

Riley: I had an experience one time I was fishing in the in the this river and man I was facing downstream and I'm just having a good old time and had my fly rod swinging right thing I know something just hits me from behind and I I could not figure out what the heck was going on at for a second You know I was like This has never happened before and it was pushing me hard

Merle Long: Hmm.

Riley: And that's what it was It was about a about a 12-inch log about 30 feet long was just floating down river and you don't hear them coming right

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: of the legs and I was at the end of it so I was able to just kinda walk up the side But

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: it

Merle Long: Yeah. Yeah, it definitely would. [00:55:00] Yeah, those things, yeah, yeah. Logs, rivers, whatever. The funny bit, um, so, uh, in, in Idaho, uh, down a section we call the South Fork, which is a Class III, Class IV section, um, when they were doing logging up on the Payette, uh, because, you know, there's no cars, there's no roads, there's no whatever, uh, they would send the logs down the river.

So they would chop them down, send them down the river, uh, send them, go do- uh, have them go down, and then, uh, because they don't wanna walk, they would get onto the log and then run the log down the river, going down these huge Class IV that, you know, nowadays we have to, you know, have insurance for, uh, you know, be trained for years to go down, you know, all the safety equipment, our $300 helmets, $300 on, $100 life jackets, $1,500 kayak, you know, whatever, um, and go down this white water where they were just, you know, in these, in these [00:56:00] plaid button-ups and these shorts and their hatchet,

Riley: standing on

Merle Long: standing on logs.

It's nuts.

Riley: That is the craziest thing to to think about cause I've seen those pictures those old old pictures and you know we still do those those uh uh The Lumberjack Games or whatever they're called where guys are doing log rolling contests

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: each trying to knock each other off That's where that came from right Is that

Merle Long: That's right. It's awesome.

Riley: Oh my gosh Merle has there ever been a time in your competition career where you just thought about quitting hanging it up

Merle Long: Yeah. Um, I mean, there is, uh... I am a bit, I'm very, I'm very fresh, luckily. Uh, this is the... I started really going hard in the sport, um, about 2022. So it's been about four years. Uh, 2022, 2023, [00:57:00] that's when I, you know, started working with a nutritionist, um, working with, uh, strength and conditioning coaches, um, all this stuff, doing those two to three sessions a day Uh, stuff like that where, uh...

So luckily I'm still, I'm still very fresh mentally. Um, uh, but there, you know, has been times where, you know, the, it doesn't seem like anything's going your way for a consistent period of time. You know, all this stuff keeps happening. Why is this, blah, blah, blah, blah? Um, you know, this is stupid and, you know, all that, all that stuff runs through your head.

But luckily it only lasts for maybe, maybe a day, maybe two days. And then, um, I start to look towards the next race and start to think about, you know, I maybe take a bit of time off, uh, spend a bit more, uh, doing hobbies or whatever it may be, recuperate, and then, and then jump straight back in. So trying to find that balance, I think keeps you, keeps you fresh.

But, um, luckily enough, [00:58:00] I've been, you know, still, still young, still new, so, uh, uh, it hasn't been, hasn't been too many instances. Doesn't last for more a day.

Riley: When when you get those do you have a What's the what's the conversation in your head like in order to to walk yourself through that

Merle Long: Let it happen. Let it happen. So, um, last year was my, uh, was my worst, my worst year to date, uh, in, in this sport. I, uh, didn't make it out of heats in, in slalom. And then for kayak cross, which is, uh, which I'm a lot better in, um, did well in, in the time trial in individual, which seeds the spots for the brackets essentially.

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: Championships. I ended up, uh, 11th, um, and which is pretty solid, uh, within a second of the number one boat. [00:59:00] And then going, uh, off of the start ramp, where the first gate was around this, this rock. Um, went around the rock, and then got stuck behind the person ahead of me, which messed up the, the move.

Got stuck behind him, and it made me mess up the move even more. So, uh, missed the first gate, completely botched it, uh, ran into a rock, essentially. Um, went down to the bottom and, you know, had a moment to myself, let it happen. I, I went, I went around this, this, this corner into this pool of water, made sure I was alone, you know, uh, there's no cameras around, and then just let it happen.

Had a talk with myself, you know, flail- flared the arms a little bit. Maybe a little more than I'd like to admit, but, um, let it happen, let it happen. Uh, the funny bit it, it was-- The funny bit with that story [01:00:00] is I did all this preparation. I went around this corner, went, made sure nobody was around. Um, turns out they, because I was the last heat- They kept the bottom camera running.

So you can see in the bottom camera, you can see just a little, a little, maybe four or five picture-- pixels of me, you know, having a moment to myself. So I-- It's so funny. Did all this preparation, did all this stuff, and then I still got caught on camera. But yeah, to answer your question to how, how do you deal with those moments is just, you know, let it happen, have a chat with your coaches, and then typically, at least for me, it blows over in a little bit.

So it might be a day or two of sulking, um, might be a week or two of sulking, but after that, it, it, it ends up being all right.

Riley: That's interesting That's a I think a pr-pretty mature way to think about it man I would've It's easy to get stuck in your head too long right To where build it into a bigger thing than it is But that that realization that yeah let it happen It'll it'll pass [01:01:00] know

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: away and I'll things it'll be all right

Merle Long: Exactly.

Riley: I love it it Um Olympics man Are you gonna head to the to the Olympics yourself

[01:02:00]

Merle Long: That's right. So that's, you know, that's everybody's goal. Um, but, you know, I, I always like to hang with the mentality of, um, you know, no one's as prepared as I am. Uh, I take a lot of steps to, uh, ensure as much, uh, as I can that I am the best prepared person when I cross that start line. Um, whether it be from nutrition, from working with a psychologist, from my strength and conditioning, whatever it may be, from my technique with my coaches, I believe I'm the best prepared person.

So I believe I will go to the Olympics, um, twenty twenty-eight and twenty thirty-two. Uh, right now at the moment, I'm the number one-rated Australian athlete. uh,

Riley: Hmm

Merle Long: and, uh, fourteenth in, in the world in, in, in overall. [01:03:00] So I have a pretty, pretty good shot at it, so I'm pretty, pretty excited to, you know, start to race the, the last two World Cups of this season.

Uh, will-- You will get points for your, uh, uh, for your, uh, Olympic quota. That's what I was looking for. So if you get-- If you end up being, uh, X amount of, uh, the... What am I looking for? Uh, you have to get X amount of points compared to the rest of the countries, uh, to get certain Olympic quotas, 'cause they only have so many.

They have about thirty-two Olympic quotas. Uh, so they will send only thirty-two countries, so you have to make more points than all the other countries. So that's a part of the, a part of the Uh, that's a part of the, of the process is to the tail end of this season and then the whole next season, creating enough points to get those Olympic quotas, and then after that end up, uh, [01:04:00] having a Olympic, uh, Olympic qualifier.

So, uh, it'll be about 2028, early 2028, we'll have our Olympic qualifier, and then that'll be, that'll be the decider. But, um, there's, it's a big process that comes into it, but I'm pretty confident in my ability, so yeah.

Riley: I didn't know that the there were um countries like a quota on that I That's that's that's new news It's like another layer of competition there right

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly. So the, the... A lot of people, I mean, you know, it's not expected for everybody that watch the Olympics to understand how each country came to be, but yeah, for every sport, every sport around the world, there's a certain amount of quotas that are, uh, given to each, uh, of the countries. So if nobody in the Oceania region, uh, gets a quota spot, they all have, we all have to fight for one, essentially.

Riley: Hmm

Merle Long: And there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of, um, there's a lot of... What, what am I looking for? [01:05:00] Uh, there's a lot of nuance, so there's a lot of these different rules to make sure that it's, uh, even for everybody. So everybody in Oceanias, everybody in the Americas, everybody in, uh, Europes, et cetera, uh, they will all get at least one quota spot no matter what.

Even if they don't qualify for one,

Riley: Hmm

Merle Long: that you have to qualify for your country and then qualify for yourself, and then understand that hopefully your, uh, your organization will accept that and, you know, uh, put you in as the Olympic, uh, boat.

So it's a

Riley: happen that

Merle Long: of stuff.

Riley: you could be the fastest man on earth but then your country your teammates don't score high enough to get you there right

Merle Long: That's right. So it's, it's like if, I mean, if you're... To be fair, if you're the fastest person on earth, you're gonna have the quota spot. So, um, yeah, there's a... But, like, for some, if some strange reason, um, uh, you don't get a [01:06:00] quota spot and, uh, as a team, we just-- we're just under that, uh, you know, points or everybody else raced really well that season, whatever it may be, um, and then it comes to the Olympic qualifier between you and all the other Oceanias, uh, and another country gets it, and another country has their own athlete.

So, um, s- things out of your hand could happen and, and you could just never... There's, there's instances, uh, and, uh, I won't say who, but there's instances of people getting that quota spot, people winning their Olympic qualifier races, and then their country picks somebody else.

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: the work They did everything by the book.

They won every race, and they made enough points for them to be able to pick, uh, picked as the Olympic boat, and their country just said, "No, we're gonna send somebody else." So

Riley: Oh my gosh

Merle Long: a lot of, there's a lot of [01:07:00] pol- uh, politics in, in sport, and this is, this Olympic qualifier is, is definitely a big part of that.

Riley: Oh man

Merle Long: Yeah, it's nuts.

Riley: that to me I I yeah that part of that um competition that have to kind of resign yourself that is gonna happen

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: You Do you uh Are there appeals Or is there anything you can do to kind of question those things or

Merle Long: you, can sue, but I mean, even if... You, you can't really sue for that quota spot, so there's like, there's things that you can do legally, but realistically, like, if, if your country just says no, then they just say no, so

Riley: Yeah

Merle Long: sadly.

Riley: And who wants to be the guy that gets served by a lawsuit

Merle Long: That's right. Yeah, exactly. It's so... Yeah. Exactly.

Riley: Uh Merle can we get a move on to some uh other questions that are outside of the kayaking world Just get to know Merle [01:08:00] questions

Merle Long: I'd love to.

Riley: Awesome man Well listen this is called the Go Earn Your Salt podcast That's the tagline for our electrolyte company and it's the name of this podcast And when you hear that phrase Go earn your salt what do you think of think of

Merle Long: Uh, for me personally, go earn your salt. Let me think on this one. The first thing I think of, uh, would probably be, you know, work as hard as you can, really. Go earn that sweat. You know,

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: the, the, the, you have to earn... You have to, you have to earn it to be able to... What am I looking for?

You can't-- You have to earn as much as... Ooh. I'm trying to, I'm trying to think of a way to say this. Um,

Riley: Cool man Merle

Merle Long: you have to work as hard as you can

Riley: the

Merle Long: So earning that salt, [01:09:00] earning, earning that, uh, that sweat, essentially, is, is, is probably the first thing I think of.

Riley: river what is your favorite pastime

Merle Long: Jiu-jitsu, I think.

Riley: Yeah

Merle Long: Absolutely. So I wish, ah, you know, if, if for some strange reason canoe slalom stopped existing or got taken out of the Olympics and just all went to, went to crap, you know, the first-- I always have to train something, so the first thing I'm turning to is jiu-jitsu. I really wish that I had, you know, enough, you know, uh, I had enough in me to be able to train both full time.

Um, I had to pick one. And, and, and I pick the other. So, uh, definitely absolutely jujitsu. I enjoy outdoors quite a bit. Um, I, I teach wilderness first aid courses, so I love going out, you know, uh, just paddling for fun on white water, so paddling those big [01:10:00] creaking rivers all around the world. Um, and then... Or just, you know, hiking, all that good stuff.

But the first thing that absolutely comes to mind is, is, is jujitsu for sure. Uh...

Riley: You know it's funny cause that is the one thing I don't like about jujitsu is the indoor part right

Merle Long: That's right, yeah.

Riley: bike and I'll realize like I'm I'm pedaling one evening and I I realize I have jujitsu the next day and I'm like man I love I love grappling but I would sure like to do it out here on the mountain That'd be cooler

Merle Long: It would be so sick. It would be awesome. We, we... That'd be so cool to set up. Um, yeah, that'd be, that'd be super cool to set up. The, you know, realistically anything, anything outdoors. Like I, I surf when I'm here. Um, I hike, I paddle creaking, I go camping. Really anything outdoors, uh, I, I just love to do. Um, so yeah, if we could figure out somehow to get, get some sort of pit up on the top of a, of the summit of a mountain, that'd be, that'd be awesome.

Riley: That would be rad

Merle Long: That's right.[01:11:00]

Riley: You figure that one out man and invite me

Merle Long: That's right. Well, yeah. Well, the, the pit's coming to Idaho, so we just need to get, you know, we just need to get them up to, on some sort of summit, hopefully. We'll just convince them.

Riley: uh couple couple episodes ago I interviewed a a guy and a gal that were own the Pit Challenge which is

Merle Long: Oh, really?

Riley: event

Merle Long: Yeah, yeah,

Riley: bringing it to Boise It's coming here in in uh late May

Merle Long: yeah.

I saw that.

Riley: pits and so they'll have four pits going on at the same time

Merle Long: Yeah, I saw that. That's awesome. You just have to tell them to put it on top of a mountain. That'd be sick.

Riley: Yeah we'll get it on a mountain

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: What's wrong with you

Merle Long: Literally.

Riley: Um

Merle Long: Exactly.

Riley: what is something quirky about you that people don't know

Merle Long: Quirky about me?

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: Um, trying to think.[01:12:00]

Uh, it will probably... It's, I reckon it's tied between, uh, I, I, I do love video games, so that is, that's one of my, my guilty pleasures, my pastimes, um, I do enjoy. We just talked about how I hate being indoors, but there's good parts to it.

Riley: Mm-hmm

Merle Long: to it. So, uh, that or, uh, I am, uh, some sort of, uh, medieval kind of, uh, freak, I guess you could say.

I love learning about... I've, I have so many books that I've read, so many, you know, uh, audiobooks, so many video games that I've played- About, uh, medieval times. I, I love learning about it. So, um, yeah, I guess that's something that, uh, people don't really, really know about me is my love for video games and that sort of, that sort of, uh, genre of, of time, history, I guess.

Yeah.

Riley: What what type of video games do you play

Merle Long: Uh, well, so there's, uh... I first [01:13:00] got introduced to video games via my dad. Um, we used to play, uh, or he used to play, uh, Fallout 3 and then give me a controller and tell me I'm playing it, but in reality, he's the one playing it. Mine's turned off. So, um, there's... Yeah, so I kind of fell in love with that genre, with Fallout.

Uh, I love, I love those kind of games, the, the either first-person or really any campaig- campaign-driven games. Uh, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, that's one of my favorites, or that whole franchise. Um, I also enjoy quite a bit some online games, uh, playing with my mates, you know, Call of Duty: Warzone, whatever it may be.

Um, yeah, uh, honestly, really anything under the sun, but the first thing that comes to mind, which is my favorite, would be those, uh, those first-person, big, huge campaign-driven games via Fallout is my favorite franchise, or

you know, uh, BioShock or King- [01:14:00] I can go on for ages. I... But yeah,

Riley: Love it.

Merle Long: those types.

Riley: So we just kind of blew by it there, but did you say your dad would have you come play with him, but your, your controller was off?

Merle Long: right. Of course. That's right. It's definitely something that he would do though, eh?

Riley: Well,

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: like it to me,

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: that, uh... How long did it take you, take you to catch on?

Merle Long: Uh, three years ago when he told me that story.

Riley: See, you just figured it.

Merle Long: That's right. That's right. So only a couple years ago.

Riley: it. Merle, what's your favorite food?

Merle Long: Favorite food, pizza.

Riley: Yeah?

Merle Long: Yeah, I have it way too much. I... So I... They have, uh, a protein base here at, at Woolies where, where I shop, so, um, they have g- a protein-based pizza, get some mozzarella, and really anything under the sun, as long as it has, you know, pizza sauce and cheese and bread.

Riley: Nice. I love

Merle Long: right.

Riley: you're in Australia, man. Is Vegemite any [01:15:00] good? I've never

Merle Long: No.

Riley: sounds terrible to me.

Merle Long: It tastes like...

So... And my girlfriend loves it. I give her crap all the time for it. But, um, she, uh, uh... It's this... It, it tastes like if you left a pill in your mouth for too long.

Riley: Yeah.

Merle Long: that, you know that, you know that, that, that

Riley: It's

Merle Long: that kind of salty, I guess, just bitter taste? Yeah. It's just like that.

Riley: Yeah.

Merle Long: It's so bad.

I hate it. I hate it. It's so, it's so bad. I... The... There's, you know, you know, uh, Vegemite scrolls, which is essentially like they They bake this bread and have Vegemite in, in, uh... What am I looking for? The, uh, what is it? Uh, cinnamon, the glazed cinnamon rolls. You know what I'm talking about?

Riley: the frosting?

Merle Long: You know, the...

Essentially, uh, they take cinnamon rolls, but instead of the cinnamon, it's Vegemite, and then they put cheese over top. [01:16:00] It's bad. Yeah, not good. It's terrible. Um, but I

Riley: the

Merle Long: me-

Riley: part sounds good.

Merle Long: That's right. Um, but then they have meat pies, which are just lov- which is just so good. Meat pies are my favorite thing. Um, yeah, their, their steak down here

Riley: Merle, do you have

Merle Long: is really, really good.

They have a lot of... They produce a lot of, of beef, so they have a lot of, a lot of stuff like that. Um, uh, fairy bread. Fairy bread is really, really good. Uh, but yeah, they, they have some great stuff, but Vegemite, not it.

Riley: nickname?

Merle Long: well, I got... You know, there's Merley Bird. You can... Actually, there's a lot of... that you can derive from Merl. Um, Girly Merly, you know, Curly Merly, whatever. Um, but, uh, the... I have a couple different ones that some of them at the, at the stadium call me Big M. Um, some of them, uh, there's, uh, Merley Bird. [01:17:00] Um, uh, if I had to pick one, though, it'd probably be Merley Bird.

That's... I've been always called that since I was a, since I was a kid, so

Riley: Since you were a kid, was

Merle Long: that's right.

Riley: like aunts and grandmas call you that?

Merle Long: Yeah, exactly. That's right.

Riley: I love it, man. Do you, uh... Tell us the scariest moment of your life.

Merle Long: Scariest moment of my life.

Uh, the scariest moment of my life, uh, there was one instance, um, where I was, I think I was about 14 or 15. Uh, I was paddling a river, uh, down in Chile. Uh, and I got, uh... I messed up, I messed up the, the lead-in. I got turned sideways and fell sideways into, into a big pour-over drop, and I got held there for about, you know, it felt like hours, but it was about, uh, 30 to 45 [01:18:00] seconds, where essentially it holds you in this big, um, big wash, basically.

So it holds you under there, um, just doesn't let you move or anything. Uh, and I held there for quite a while, got very, very scared, and then, um, ended up, which is what you're supposed to do, you swim towards the, the feature, and then it hopefully swim down so it can wash you out on the bottom of the river.

So y- I swim towards it, went to the bottom of the river, got scraped on the bottom of the river, and then popped up on the other side. So that was probably the scariest moment Um, probably the closest call I've ever had. Um, and, and yeah, luckily I've learned from that and, and made sure that, that, that won't happen again to the best of my ability, so...

Riley: Yeah. Yeah, that's an experience, right? Man. Merle, what is the best advice you've ever received?

Merle Long: Um, leave no stone unturned, and I've held that [01:19:00] throughout my whole life, um, especially very much recently. Uh, it's been kind of my, my thing I always look towards, leave no stone unturned. Uh, I have very high hopes for myself, so I, I do believe I will make it to the Olympics. I do believe I, I will get a medal at some point in my career, uh, at the Olympics.

Um, and if, if, if I don't do any of that, if I don't make the Olympics, if I never make another national team ever again, I know that if I leave no stone unturned, I did absolutely everything I could. So I, you know, you know, ate right. I went to all of my training opportunities. I, you know, went through my psychologist.

I did all the physio. I did the recovery. I did everything I could. And if I retire saying, "I did everything I could," but I didn't accomplish anything, that would be, that w- that would be, that would be the, uh, best case scenario coming from a bad case scen-- or worst [01:20:00] case scenario being I don't get any of those accomplishments.

So yeah.

Riley: you know you didn't leave anything on the table.

Merle Long: That's right. That's right.

Riley: that's beautiful, man.

Merle Long: Hmm.

Riley: what's something on your bucket list?

Merle Long: So I have a couple, definitely a couple different things. I've always wanted to skydive. That's one of the things. Um, always wanted to skydive. Uh, I also-- There's also a, a river called the Zambezi, uh, it's in Africa, that I've always wanted to run. Um, it's kind of... It's a goal of mine to make my, make a, make my way down there, um, at some point.

Uh, let me try to think. I reckon tho- I mean, those are the first two that, that I always think about when I, whenever I wanna do something. So do those. Uh, and then kind of, I guess the last goal would be a, uh, would be a, um, a flight paramedic or flight medic. So flight nurse, flight medic. I'm going for

Riley: Oh, okay. [01:21:00] That

Merle Long: some sort of, uh, a lot more experience in the field, uh, I can start applying for becoming a flight nurse. So that's kind of my goal.

Riley: sounds cool, man. Yeah. My, uh, my son Danny, he's, he's fighting fires right now, wild land, and he's, uh... But they've talked to him a little bit about getting on a helicopter crew, and that would

Merle Long: Oh, that would be so cool. Yeah, I've,

Riley: Yeah.

Merle Long: I know one of my, one of my buddies, uh, works on one of those, and he loves it, so yeah.

Riley: Yeah, I think that'd be a good gig for him. But Merle, do you have a, do you have a favorite book?

Merle Long: Favorite book?

Let me think. Um,

probably my favorite book, and I don't-- I wish I read more recently, but the, the one I'm, I'm always come back to are, uh, Lessons from a Stoic,

Riley: Hmm.

Merle Long: But I'm reading that at the moment, uh, Lessons of a Stoic, and it's, it's, you know, a very, very good read. It's a lot of, [01:22:00] um, it's a lot more of these, uh, shorter stories, but, uh, I enjoy it quite a bit.

Riley: That's, uh-- That stoicism has become pretty popular in the last, you know, five, 10 years.

Merle Long: Yeah, definitely. I saw it on TikTok, I gotta be honest. I said

Riley: that?

Merle Long: I saw it on TikTok, so I got that idea from there. So

Riley: Yeah. Hey,

Merle Long: I, gotta be honest. That's right.

Riley: love it when you get fa- an idea that you just can kinda latch onto

Merle Long: That's right.

Riley: It's, it's good stuff. So,

Merle Long: There you go.

Riley: uh, what's next for you, man? You're, uh... I imagine just with Olympic dreams, you, you kinda got most of your path out there. But nursing, how far off is nursing?

Merle Long: So, uh, I'm a year in, uh, just about, just started my second year into nursing. I'm doing part-time, so it's gonna take me about six years. Uh, so I'm kind of chugging away at that. Uh, for me personally, what's next is in about, uh, 20,

Riley: Well,

Merle Long: uh, I apologize, in about, you know, two weeks I'll head over to Europe, and I'll start my [01:23:00] international season.

So I'll do the second... I'll start m- doing the World Cup circuit, the under 23 World Championships, and kind I touched on before, uh, with that whole season. And so that's kind of what I'm looking for n- looking forward to now. Uh, and then,

Riley: you, man.

Merle Long: uh, I'll,

Riley: love

Merle Long: once, once I come back, taking some time off and stuff like that.

So, you know, the next couple months kind of just look like a lot of, a lot of racing. A lot of racing, a lot of training, but a whole lot of memories, so I'm, I'm excited.

Riley: watch it from... I want you to see it a distance, but it's sure cool seeing what you're doing

Merle Long: That's right. Co-come out to Oklahoma City. It'll be great.

Riley: Yeah, you know, um, when is that happening?

Merle Long: Uh, the 20th. 20th July. 20th of July.

Riley: Oh, soon, okay.

Merle Long: Yeah.

Riley: Um, in fact, that weekend I've got a, an event for SALT

Merle Long: no.

Riley: be... Yeah. Yeah, so probably won't be making it to, uh, Oklahoma City, but that'd be cool, man.

Merle Long: Yeah, fair enough.

Riley: just a couple of days from here, so.

Merle Long: [01:24:00] Yeah.

Riley: Merle, I, uh... Tell us where you can be found, social medias, that kind of thing

Merle Long: So, uh, on, on Instagram, that's my main platform, it's, uh, merle, M-E-R-L-E, underscore kayaks. And then I also have TikTok and LinkedIn, which are both, uh, merlekayaks. So for, uh, Instagram, it has an underscore under merle and kayaks. And then all the others are just more kayaks.

Riley: Awesome, man. you coming on, dude. We're, uh... It's a, it's a fun conversation getting an insight into that kind of world-class level athleticism

Merle Long: Mm.

Riley: and, uh, you know, I hope people get to hear what it really takes to compete at that level, 'cause

Merle Long: Mm.

Riley: me it's fascinating. You know, I, I, uh, I play the jujitsu game, but I play it as a hobbyist, not as a, you know, serious athlete.

And I see, I see guys in that sport, the serious ones, right? And they're, they're on a different level, and you're out there doing it in the kayaking world, man. Well

Merle Long: That's right. Well, thank you. I am [01:25:00] always grateful to be able to share my, you know, life story and my, my next steps, et cetera. So, uh, thank you for inviting me. It's, it's a pleasure.

Riley: Yeah, man. Merle, go earn your salt, my

Merle Long: Thank you.