Gusto 8 Gonna Be Great!
By William Paine
Word is out. There’s no hiding it anymore. The 8th Annual Gusto with GRAPeJAM is set to be bigger and better than ever.
This year’s Gusto, once again, will take place on the last Saturday of Spring at the rustic and rambunctious Rockhouse Marina.
Much is the same but much is different in this year’s Gusto …
The 2.5-mile Bona Fide and 4.5-mile Master Class Paddle Board Races will take place with all the pomp and circumstance deserving of such events. As will the famed 4.5-mile Kahuna Kayak Contest.
Just as before, all races begin and end at the Rockhouse Marina and paddle boards and kayaks will be available for rent at a nominal price.
But some aspects of the 8th Annual Gusto with GRAPeJAM are different indeed.
TAKE NOTE!
This year’s paddle board and kayak races start at 9:30 a.m. sharp! That means you and your people got to arrive early if you need to register or rent a board/kayak before the race.
Hey, that’s still later than most races start, so just get over it and get down to the Rockhouse on race day!
Better yet, register online now at PaddleGuru.com so you don’t have to get out of bed so gosh-darn early!
What else?
The colors of course. The theme of this year’s Gusto is purple and green just like the preppies in their Izod shirts way back in the 80’s … except our Gusto Jerseys are self-wicking and will dry quickly after your Gusto experience. Can you dig it? You can and you will when you register for Gusto 8.
But there’s more …
The Gusto race series has always been known for its awards. We started with medals you could wear around your neck. But you can only wear a medal on the day you won the race and that seemed like a shame. Think of it, even if you’re proud of your first-place finish, you can’t really wear your medal around town on a daily basis or people will think you’re stuck up or maybe a little crazy.
For this reason, we decided to distribute race awards in the form of leather bracelets with race placement printed on the band. We changed to silicone bracelets for the 5th Annual Gusto.
Those were pretty neat but we’ve since progressed even further into the world of race reward mementos to offer the already semi-legendary FEDORA AWARD.
All those who finish the 8th Annual Gusto with GRAPeJAM will earn a unique GREEN FELT FEDORA with your race placement written underneath the iconic purple Gusto Man Badge.
Don’t get too excited.
You’re going to have to paddle really hard for about an hour to earn the Master Paddler (Master Class), Bona Fide Ride (Bona Fide Class) or Big Kahuna (Kahuna Kayak Contest) Fedora. But don’t worry, if you don’t earn the top spot, we have many more prestigious titles to grant paddlers of the Gusto.
Best of all, you can wear your award! People will see your stylish green fedora complete with purple Gusto Guy Badge indicating race placement and they won’t think you’re crazy. They’ll think, “That guy’s got Gusto,” And they will be correct.
It’s almost like we’re supplying your whole wardrobe for the price of entry, which is only $25!!
And ….
Don’t Forget our grand Gusto tradition of donating dollars to the Greater Pulaski Junior Appalachian Musicians (GRAPeJAM). Registration fees go towards funding the 8th Annual Gusto with GRAPeJAM. And to show their appreciation, the GRAPeJAM band will play a few tunes after race fedoras are distributed to all Gustovians in attendance.
Just so you know, GRAPeJAM teaches kids how to play Appalachian Music using Appalachian instruments and if you know a kid who wants to learn how to play, come to the Gusto 8 and we’ll sign him or her up!
We couldn’t do the Gusto with GRAPeJAM events without our sponsors, who are all most excellent in so many ways.
This year’s 8th Annual Gusto with GRAPeJAM is made possible by:
Interstate Construction, NRV Lube Plus, Gilmer Saddler Attorneys, Foothills Chiropractic, Vegg Inc., MOVA, Town & Country Veterinary Clinic, the Rockhouse Marina, The Fine Arts Center for the NRV, Pulaski County, Pulaski On Main and The Patriot and The Southwest Times newspapers.
If you can’t make it in person, check out the Patriot’s Facebook page as we will be broadcasting the event live next Saturday morning.
By the way, Saturday, June 14, 2025 is Flag day, so God Bless the USA and Go for the Gusto!