KAYAK 4 HEROES
Words and photos : Josh Raper
Lands End to John O ’ Groats ( LEJOG ) has been an endurance challenge taken on by a whole variety of people over the decades , ranging from the top athletes of their sport to members of the general public pushing their limits and , more often than not , raising funds for charity in the process .
The majority of these expeditions have been land-based , with only a handful of attempts on the water and certainly not many recorded attempts by kayak . This summer , Kayak 4 Heroes , a world-first expedition , will be setting off on June 19th to take on this challenge of a lifetime , as well as pushing their fitness and endurance to the extreme .
I ’ ve been lucky enough to join their journey in one of their first expedition training camps last year . Acting as support crew and the official photographer of the expedition during the training stages , and hopefully meeting them at various points of the expedition when I can .
So what makes this expedition the first of its kind ? The expedition team features five veterans , all with life-changing injuries , which makes this an adaptive team , and so far , only non-disabled individuals have taken on LEJOG . They will have to face the challenges of the route , the weather and control of the kayaks , and the challenges of what their bodies will face along the way .
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