Fifteen of the world's best paddleboarders gathered at Ocean Beach yesterday for the Red Bull Heavy Water SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) competition, battling surf and waves in their 7.5 mile journey from the beach all the way to Marina Green. As CBS 5 reports, the rules of the race dictated that the competitors went in and out three times — ensuring they were repeatedly knocked off their boards for the viewing pleasure of those gathered on the beach — before heading out to open water.

According to a press release, this was the final event of the 2016 world championship series, and the location did not disappoint. “We identified Ocean Beach as one of the more extreme, notorious locations in the U.S,” Stand Up Paddling tour director Tristin Boxford told the channel. Those in the water agreed.

“I’ve been training my whole life to be a waterman,” race winner Connor Baxter said in a statement following his victory. “This race was way more than I expected in many ways. The water is coming from every direction; you have backwash, wind-wash, ground-swell, and current moving underneath you, so all those different variables made it really interesting and very difficult at the same time."

In fact, it was so difficult that only 10 of the 15 actually made it to Marina Green. Baxter's winning time was 1hr, 11 minutes and 32 seconds, and that came with a $20,000 prize.

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