ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — For many people, birthdays mean presents, cake and maybe a nice meal with friends and family.
Mayport resident Kurtis Loftus will probably get to enjoy those things after he completes a 76 mile journey on his stand up paddle board (SUP).
"You do have to get in a mindset that's like a marathon or ultra runner," said Loftus.
Not exactly the first thought that come to mind when talking about birthday plans, but then again, Loftus likes to think big.
Starting on Sunday night, he plans to continuously SUP through the Intracoastal Waterway, then head out to the Atlantic Ocean through the Vilano Bridge.
"There'll be times when I'm going tonight where it's strictly 3 miles an hour because I have to sustain," said Loftus, "I don't want to crush myself."
And that's because that particular leg of the ICW is just the first of 4 stages of his journey.
"The ocean is ocean swells, winds, southeast winds," said Loftus "you have to have core strength to deal with undulating waves."
After that he'll paddle all the way north on the Atlantic Ocean to the St Johns River and complete his loop by finishing where he started in the Intracoastal. That's a 76 mile long journey with the goal of finishing in under 24 hours. Even attempting this seems astounding!
And with nothing but paddling for the next 24 hours, how does he avoid getting bored?
"You fill your mind with a lot of wonderful things like gratitude," said Loftus, "I always think about how luck I am to be in this space."
He's turning 61 years old on Friday and this isn't the first time Loftus has attempted an all-day challenge. Just last year he set a World Record by surfing nonstop for 33 hours.
"Some of that is just mental and you need to prep yourself for a whole day of activity," said Loftus.
As much as this is an individual challenge for Loftus, he hopes that it's also an inspirational one for others to show that anyone can do anything as long as they put their mind to it.
"I've had friends that will message me that have been sitting on the couch for a couple years and they're my age and they're like, dude, you're killing it, I've got to go out and do something, I can't keep watching you do something and I'm sitting here on the couch," said Loftus. "I've seen lives change where people all of a sudden, they're inspired by the outdoor space."
And for his birthday, Loftis and his SUP are going to share about 24 hours of continuous quality time.
Loftus says that he's been a surfer all his life but started wakeboarding in the ICW about 20 years ago and fell in love with the area. He started paying attention to the beauty and history of the island (beaches from Mayport all the way down to Vilano Beach) and spent 2 years illustrating a map of the island with many points of interest.
He thinks that tides will be his biggest challenge because they can work against one's body and mind.
Loftus believes that trouble areas on his 76 mile journey will be the inlets near the St Johns River and Vilano Bridge.