Humans of East: Steven Appier

On August 27, Chemistry teacher Steven Appier competed in Race For the Rivers, a 30-mile kayak race along the Missouri River. He took fifth place with a time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. Appier reflects on his 13 years of competitive kayaking and shares how kayaking impacts his classroom and teaching style.

What attracted you to kayaking?

“It was July of 2008, and I was watching the news and the reporter was talking about this [kayak race] that was happening at Kaw Point, where the Kansas River joins the Missouri River, about these people that were going to do this race down the Missouri River from Kansas City. These crazy people were going to go 340 miles down the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Louis. And they had to complete the race in 100 hours or less. I thought, ‘I could do that.’ And that’s how I got into kayaking.”

Would you consider yourself a competitive kayaker?

“I am. The only problem is, some of these people really put in a lot of time training. So that’s one issue. And the other issue is that I’m old, so in the race that I did last weekend, I’m competing against guys literally half my age. I mean, I’m competitive. I never finish in last. In [Race For the Rivers] a year before, I got third place. I’m not as competitive as I might like to be. But I do okay.”

What was the best part of the Race For the Rivers? 

“Getting done. I’m sorry, that’s going to be my answer for any of those races because here’s the thing. Not only is it hard, on a kayak, your butt gets sore, your legs get sore, it’s hot. You ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ You’re doing it to test yourself. That’s the truth. You’re putting yourself out there against whatever, just to see if you can. I think that overall, the feeling that you get when you’re done is you’ve completed it and you’ve done reasonably well. That’s gratifying.”

What is your favorite part about kayaking?

“I like the feeling of moving through the water, just moving. And it doesn’t hurt as bad as running. Running hurts. Kayaking hurts and it’s longer and you do feel miserable after a while, but it doesn’t hurt as bad as running.”

What have you learned from kayaking?

“It’s rewarding to push yourself and overcome that feeling of ‘I want to give up. I want to stop. I don’t want to finish.’ Overcoming that really helps build your character as a person. I really think that’s an important thing that I get from kayaking. That feeling of, ‘I’m not going to let it beat me. I will persevere and get it done.’”

Do you have any funny stories related to kayaking?

“Some people try to do [the 340-mile race] without sleeping at all. I tried to do it with maybe a couple of hour and a half naps in between but trust me when I say this, by the second night you’re hallucinating. One year I was doing it and the second night, there were dinosaurs on the shore. One time, I stopped to take a drink and then I started paddling again and I realized after I’d been going for probably three or four minutes, I was going the wrong way. I was going up the river instead of down the river.”

How does kayaking relate to the classes you teach at East?

“If you just do what’s easy and you don’t push yourself beyond what you feel that you’re capable of, you don’t grow as a person. You don’t grow physically, and you don’t grow intellectually. That’s the same in the classroom as it is in a kayak. If I stop every time I feel like stopping, I’m never gonna get anywhere. And that’s why I push the kids. That’s why I make it challenging, because that’s what helps them grow. It helps them grow emotionally, it helps them grow mentally and it helps them grow intellectually. It’s the same idea.”