|
Finished DW or did DW finish us? We did it! We finished the race in 19 hours 37 minutes, winning us the trophy for the women's senior doubles race, and placing us a very respectable (and never achieved by a women's crew before) 6th overall. It was a very slow year due to the lack of rain in the weeks before the race, so our time was far off women's record, which remains intact; however we now know that we are certainly capable of achieving it in another (faster) year!
We arrived in Devizes on Friday afternoon and prepared all the food and kit ready for the next day. We also had a little 'warm-up' in the garden on the pretence of making sure spare paddles were correctly set up (Kat I know you just wanted to have the backwards-forwards race with me!).
We started the race at 4.15pm on Saturday, 'Super Coach' John Handyside having planned what would turn out to be the perfect amount of time for us to reach the out-going tide at Teddington lock. Always associating the DW with cold nights, pogies and big winter cags, I never imagined I would start the race in beautiful sunshine, wearing my baseball cap, shades and sunscreen!
Ready to start…..
I maintain that the first 15 miles of the race were the most painful; the 'long pound' has no portages meaning an aching in the legs and a very sore backside for a considerable amount of time! This meant the first portage at Wootton Rivers was very welcome, and included just a little staggering and grumbling on my part.
Looking good even though our bums are aching!
Our cyclists, Jenny and Alex, who followed us along the canal and cheered us along, removed weed from our bow and gave us extra food when needed, but more importantly when darkness fell at around Kintbury (29 miles), they lit our way at portages and low bridges and kept us encouraged and entertained.
The welcome site of the M4 road bridge and murky glow of light pollution hailed our entry into Reading (52 miles). Having looked forward to the cheers and shouts we might have received going through the Oracle restaurant and bar complex, we were left slightly disappointed by a much less triumphant reception: a solitary drunkard's attempt at 'Row, row, row your boat'. I never appreciate being accused of being a rower, far less when it's 1am and I've been paddling for almost nine hours. However the feeling of deep water under our paddles was wonderful when we reached Thames a few minutes later. Hailed into the forced portage and kit check at Dreadnought Reach by the officials, we were guided to our enormous army of orange supporters including some who had come out especially to see us at 1am, including Kat's little sister Alana. The bowl of hot ravioli and the freshly made coffee was just the ticket and after having our lightsticks and boat light checked we were off into the darkness for our journey down the Thames.
Dreadnaught Reach….time to fill up on lots of yummy food before hitting the river…
This was the start of the slow grind through the night between the river locks. The cyclists had left our sides and we still had no sight of any crews ahead of us. It could have felt dark and lonely but we were too busy focusing on the job in hand and counting down the locks as they came and went. At each portage we were given some food to keep us fuelled; potatoes, pasta and mini sausages turned out to be winners for Shuna, knocking Jelly Babies into a surprise defeat.
Some elegant pictures demonstrating good eating technique: get as much in as you can!
We had an uneventful and smooth run until just before Hurley Lock (67 miles) (a common haunt for Freestylers, but not at 2am in the morning!). A thick fog had settled and it was getting almost impossible to navigate the small islands above the weir and we got lost and disorientated. However, with a few clear directions from Shuna and we found ourselves back on track. Saved by the dim glow of our support crew's lights through the fog we found the portage but the relief was short lived as Shuna's body finally hit the wall. With all her energy sapped out of her she was tempted to have a little rest, but with gentle encouragement from Steve, Shuna quite literally 'Manned Up' and we were back in the boat working hard and continuing to move along nicely as we picked off each mile to get closer to Westminster.
Lovely arty picture of us going under the bridge after Sunbury Lock (100 miles)
As daylight arrived, so did our energy levels and with a quick pep talk from Coach John, we picked up the pace in order to hit the tide "right on time!". We were starting to chase down other crews by now and we were amused when we passed a crew, who had clearly read our article in Canoe Focus, as they asked if we were on track for our record. We knew we were down on time as the water was so slow so answered no, but undeterred they asked, "So what are you aiming for now ladies?," and as we cruised by we simply said, "Westminster!" We all chuckled, but we knew just getting to Westminster was the real challenge, especially as a head wind was starting to build. Then to our surprise the bikes were back with us and Jenny and Alex could be heard shouting and cheering from bridges, river side benches and jetties. A much needed lift, and little did we know that they had cycled the whole way and had re-joined us from the road. What incredible commitment to the cause…they deserve a medal too!
At last we made it to the final food stop: Royal Canoe Club, just before Teddington (108 miles). After eating our weight in food, an unhealthy amount of caffeine and getting our sunnies on, we were ready. The final pep talk was given which included, "Shuna, Tim wishes you luck." (Which didn't sink in until about an hour later when she suddenly realised that Tim Brabants, Olympic Gold medallist, had wished her luck!!!). Then we were off to make our way to Teddington lock….the start of the tideway.
Teddington Lock: Marshal shouts, "Boat 369." Kat sings, "The monkey drank wine…".
The tideway blessed us with its usual grace: a head wind, low flow and swells. But we had a game plan… we would count the 20 bridges between Richmond and Westminster, and when we got hungry we would stop paddling and grab a little snack that had been stuck to the front of our boat at Teddington. This was much needed by me as I hit my all time low after 120 miles! However, after a Rice Crispy Square, cheering from the bridges, and a: "looking good ladies," from a crew we passed, we picked up for the final 5 miles.
Not feeling so spritely at Putney (119 miles).
The final few miles very uncomfortable; with boils in the water and speed boats rushing passed leaving us bobbing around in the swell. However, at last we could see the London Eye and in front of it, Westminster Bridge (125 miles)! We took our last few strokes to reach under the bridge when a side wave caught us… we put in the largest support stoke two very tired people could muster to keep us upright and then drifted to the finish line!
Having a few wobbles as we came into the shadow of Westminster Bridge
Phew…we made it. Clinging onto the safety men we were lifted to firm land and placed on the steps up to our support crews and more importantly, our medals!
Bling!
What a relief. No tears were shed…we were too pleased with ourselves. After photos were taken and our hearty breakfast was eaten we headed home in our various directions. It may have seemed all like a dream, apart from the fact that our bodies ached all over and our hands were ripped to pieces!
Shuna's hands after 125 miles of hard work!
Even our support crews were cream-crackered:
Our youngest supporter James, 14yrs, stayed up all night feeding us!
We have a few little thank yous before we end our piece: to our coach John who has been out with us rain and shine to ensure we were prepared for this challenge; to our support crews for being brilliantly efficient and wonderfully visible to us at all times in your bright orange hoodies; to our bike crew who cycled from Devizes to Westminster to ensure we were fully supported during the whole race… you where all were amazing and key to our success. Thank you to the event organisers, marshals and safety crew of the DW. They were brilliant and always cheerful, they especially liked it when I sang to them at Teddington. Thanks also to Signs Now East Midlands for supplying stickers for our beautifully decorated boat.
The whole team at Westminster, not looking too bad considering…
Finally, thank you to Peak UK for supplying us with the kit that kept us warm and safe during the event. As you can see from all the pictures, we wore our Cags and PFDs the whole way and would recommend their kit to anyone planning on taking on the amazing challenge of the Devizes to Westminster.
Not only did we have incredible support and achieve a brilliant result, we also raised over £2500 for our chosen charity, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. All in all, a thorough success.
Until next time…..
Shuna and Kat
Notes from the Coach:
The girls' DW was a great effort, from the two in the boat especially, but also all the supporting cast as well. They have been a joy to coach and an even bigger joy seeing them develop as a crew and do the race in what turned out to be quite tough conditions.
Crews were dropping out as they got further down the river, the girls however were undeterred and stuck to the task and responded when asked to do a little bit more. Kat stroked the boat brilliantly, Shuna kept the power and the effort under control and considering this was 400 times her previous usual race distance, she was immense. Together they made a really good crew. Of course they hit low spots, but soon paddled through them as if nothing was troubling them.
I hope they give it another go, the record is definitely vulnerable, their training times, their percentage behind the winners and all the other stats point to it going whenever conditions on the course, particularly on the river, are slightly more favourable.
Girls, it was a joy to be there again on DW, let's do it again some time!
Thanks, John.
Kat and Shuna at Westminster: still smiling as usual!
(Posted on the 11th May 2011 by pete) |
RSS 2.0