Beau O'Brian, celebrating his QLD SUP Titles Marathon win!

This weekend in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Stand Up Paddlers from all over QLD battled their way across a wind-chopped bay in pursuit of the state title. Run by Surfing QLD, with one of the best turnouts ever in a QLD nationals, 56 paddlers took on the 18km distance race from Shorncliffe to Scarborough. Along the way they battled grueling headwinds, short wind chop and a westerly wind that tried to blow competitors to Moreton Island. After the 18km, there was literally meters separating the front of the pack, with Beau O'Brian defending his title from last year beating Matt Nottage and Kelly Margetts by less than 30 seconds. Close behind the lead pack was Angie Jackson from Currumbin, easily winning the womens division with a super-human performance across the bay. Not competing in last years nationals due to a scheduling conflict, Jackson was stoked with the win, saying after the event "I'm stoked to have grabbed a spot in the Queensland team for Aussie's later in the year and compete alongside some of the best guys in Queensland who are undoubtedly some of the best in the world." From here, the leaders from each division will be heading to the 2015 Australian SUP Titles in Currumbin this October. With 2015 seeing so many Aussie paddlers at the top of the world stage, it'll be interesting to see who will emerge the overall national champion, and of course how they'll go at the ISA World Champs in 2016!

For more details on upcoming Stand Up Paddling events in Australia , check out our events page right here on Seabreeze.com.au!