ThePADDLER 130
SAFETY EQUIPMENT There is a compulsory safety equipment list that you have to adhere to . Unfortunately , the personal flotation device ( PFD ) I nicked off an Ethiopian Airlines flight a few years ago did not meet the organiser ’ s safety regulations , so I purchased a Palm Equipment Peyto PFD and one of their Bolt Ocean 20m throwlines . I went for a Peyto because I could fit a water bladder in the back , so I did not have to stop paddling while drinking . Other safety gear that we had to carry with us included a river knife , phone case and the all-important tracker .
The Trent 100 is a two-day paddle ; day 1 is 57km , while the final day , which finishes in Nottingham , is only 43km . Don ’ t be fooled by the shorter day as the River widens and has less flow as you come into Nottingham . Breakfast was served from 05.00 on race day , and at 06.30 , we had to leave the Trent Adventures campsite near Barrow Upon Trent and take a bus to the start , which was an hour away . Boards and pumps were transported to the start in a van for us .
There was a 20-hour cut-off to complete the 100kms , which made me very nervous as we stood on the start line . Luckily , I had no idea just how flowy took a swim at some stage , although in teammate Harry Shipton ’ s defence , I did push him in on one occasion . You have to keep in mind that it is the UK and it might rain and be slightly uncomfortable . How you deal with that is up to you . We put on some tunes ( Harry was carrying a waterproof speaker ) and had a bit of a sing and dance on the River . It certainly helped the miles tick by .
A significant milestone for us was checkpoint four ( 42km ) in Burton Upon Trent ; not only was it a pretty setting , but we were also able to take on extra food and cans of Red Bull for the final push . It had taken us just under nine hours to arrive back at the campsite . I was proud of our team of novices as this was less than 30 minutes behind the leaders .
GET A GOOD NIGHT ’ S REST One bit of advice to those thinking about doing the Trent 100 would be to make sure that you get a good night ’ s rest during and before the paddle . I have a rooftop tent on my Land Rover , and it has a pretty decent mattress . It even had my favourite duvet and pillows in for the Trent 100 . So it was like sleeping at home . Sleep certainly helps with recovery after a tough day on the water , but I am not sure that the the River Trent can be . It was very different to the two local rivers where I had trained for the Trent 100 , the River Nene and the River Great Ouse . During the first hour of paddling , we had already completed 8km , and for the first time , I was confident we would finish even though we had over 90km to go ! So if deciding to do this incredible event in the future , don ’ t stress if all your training is done on static or low flow rivers . The River Trent pumps like no other river I have paddled on in the UK .
HEADWINDS AND HEAVY RAINS The weather was not the best for our first day , and we had slight headwinds and heavy rains for a large part of the day . Luckily the Trent 100 has the most enthusiastic marshals and volunteers in the world . We would hear them whooping and singing when still minutes away from the various checkpoints . Our team took lunch at the 26km portage , where we all huddled under a tree to get respite from the rain and wind before pushing on .
My favourite part of the first day were the rapids and fast narrow bits , get your steering wrong , and you end up in the trees . It was so much fun , and everyone bottle of rum did us any favours . The catering at the event is top-notch , but we could still cook our breakfasts and even made a fire in our portable fire pit . It is fair to say that Team Defender were pretty comfortable ! Then we also took advantage of the massages that were on offer as this too aided recovery .
SECOND DAY Day two was much better in terms of weather , we had the wind from behind , and the raised levels of the River meant it was much more flowy than usual on this stretch of the River Trent . We had to average just under 6km / h to finish the first day before the cut-off , while on the second day , you only needed to average 3.9km / h . This is because there is not as much flow normally on the run-in to Nottingham from the campsite . Initially , we made very good time , and we were just as quick as on the first day , but after the Beeston Weir , the River opened up , and the fast flow was no more . This meant it was a real old slog into Nottingham ; luckily , Harry put on some banging tunes to help our tired arms cope . We went past the Notts Forest football ground and to the finish line where the organisers and helpers awaited us . It had