![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Jamie1_21521.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHEN 13-year-old Torquay local Jamie Flanagan went out on her paddle board last winter she didn\u2019t realise it was the start of an epic journey.<\/p>\n
Fast forward 14 months and Jamie is still paddling every day, it\u2019s an unbroken stretch that she says has made her fitter, healthier, and stronger.<\/p>\n
Like a journey of a thousand miles, Jamie\u2019s 400-day plus stint started with a single stroke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friends asked me if I wanted to go to the beach for a paddle on our boards and it was fun so we just kept going,\u201d Jamie said.<\/p>\n
Over the lockdown period Jamie kept at it each day as something to do for outdoor exercise.<\/p>\n
It evolved into a daily routine where she\u2019d catch a minimum of two waves, regardless of the conditions.<\/p>\n
Jamie says her arms aren\u2019t sore and that the secret to doing it every day is to take a flexible approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t push yourself too much, if you have a big day one day, don\u2019t do as much the next,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Jamie\u2019s mum, Caroline, said it was a positive outcome that came out of a difficult time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started when they went into homeschooling, she went out each day as that was her way to stay fit and healthy and connected with her friends,\u201d Caroline said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe started not so much with a goal but wanted to go and do something every day and get out in the water and it just flowed from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was an unexpected benefit from all the paddle time in the water, Jamie won five medals at the SLSC Victorian State Nipper Championships in March after having never won a medal over the previous three years.<\/p>\n
Rip Curl national team and event manager, surfer, and proud dad, Mark Flanagan, said the effort was truly inspiring.<\/p>\n
\u201cJamie, with the help of her teammates, came home with five medals,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club has been really supportive and has got right behind her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The medals are on proud display in the Flanagan household.<\/p>\n
Jamie says she would break the stretch for a trip away, but with restrictions being what they are she will keep going for now.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHEN 13-year-old Torquay local Jamie Flanagan went out on her paddle board last winter she didn\u2019t realise it was the start of an epic journey. Fast forward 14 months and Jamie is still paddling every day, it\u2019s an unbroken stretch that she says has made her fitter, healthier, and stronger. Like a journey of a […]<\/p>\n