PADDLER 101
WHAT MAKES THE DW SO GREAT
It’ s possible that it’ s none of these. As normal, standard, average people, we are often just spectators when great things occur. Most of us aren’ t going to the Olympics, the Tour de France, playing rugby at Twickenham, or football at Wembley. But all of us, with a bit of training and perseverance, can enter the DW. Indeed, what makes the DW so great is that the challenge it creates works across all levels. The organisers request a sensible and straightforward entry standard, and the race structure accommodates paddlers with huge differences in planned race timings.
It’ s on our doorstep, affordable and accessible, but that doesn’ t make it easy, and that, of course, is the point. It is, in fact, the hardest thing you may ever do, but so, so worth trying. All sorts of cliches can explain what lies ahead- character building, digging deep, pushing beyond your limits – it doesn’ t matter what phrases are used; the bottom line is that at some point, you will question your ability to continue and at that point, it’ s just you who can decide.
SENIOR DOUBLES RACE
The senior doubles race starts in Devizes at your chosen time on Easter Saturday morning, aiming to be at Teddington lock within a narrow, two and a half hour, window on Sunday morning. If you reach this lock 108 miles away within the designated time frame, you can continue for another 17 miles down the Thames tideway to finish under Westminster Bridge. That sounds pretty straightforward, but it’ s a long way, and you’ ll need some help.
So when you decide with your eldest son to start training at the end of the previous summer, you also need to start thinking about those who will support you along the way. If you feel you will take 24 hours plus to complete this race, with the associated sleep deprivation, then you will ask your support team to do just the same, and that’ s not everyone’ s cup of tea!
THREE MONTHS OF PADDLING
With wife Nicola, youngest son Zerran, best mate Lee, and his wife Mel signing up as our supporters, we felt like the plan was coming together. We just needed to keep training! Things kicked off well with three months of paddling before Christmas leading up to a nice six-hour, 30-mile paddle on the Exeter canal, but that, as it turned out, was when things started to fall to bits!
January was patchy, and then Keiran got offered a date in February for a surfer’ s ear operation, which kept him off the water for a further four weeks. At this stage, I was feeling my years. I’ m not that old, but training gets so tricky with age— too little, and there’ s no gain, and too much, and whoops, there’ s another injury. Treading this training tightrope was almost impossible as you became increasingly physically paranoid.
CONVENIENT TRAINING GROUND
Despite our training plan falling apart, we’ d at least had a mild winter. Our own little Bude canal had stayed unfrozen and proved to be a convenient training ground. It might be beautiful, but it’ s short, and we got bored to death with paddling endless two-mile laps!
PADDLER 101