Rawding / Davies take on the Vohandu Marathon in Aid of Dove House Hospice and supported by Peak PS
In April Dave and Andy with be taking on the mammoth task of completing the Vohandu Marathon in Estonia, a 100 kilometre Ultra-Kayak race all in aid of the Dove House Hospice in Hull.
The event is huge, with more than 1500 participants taking place every year. It receives that many entries you aren’t even guaranteed an entry. The marathon runs from Lake Tamula to Võõpsu boat harbour. Self-challenging challenges lie ahead on the 100-kilometer trail. It is everyone's story about the river, beauty and pain, suffering and pleasure. At the finish, all the finishers can say in praise: "I've paddled the whole river in one day!"
Dave and Andy are life time members of Kingston kayak club and have past (and present) history in Slalom and Polo, in both a paddler capacity and in a coaching capacity. It’s fair to say they love all things kayaking! The Vohandu Marathon is a trip into the unknown however, it will see them swapping 90 second efforts to competing over many many hours and also getting used to different kind of kit, such as paddles. Dave says “Consequently, our preparations for this event are vastly different from our previous training routines, encompassing elements such as adapting to wing paddles, which offer a performance advantage of 5%. These entail mastering an entirely different stroke dynamic, rhythm, and body movement compared to our conventional style. Whilst adapting to these paddles there is the added jeopardy of one of us catching a ‘crab’ and then capsizing. Whilst we are both expert at rolling individual kayaks getting the synchronisation correct in a double will lead to some additional challenges :) Obviously training to compete over the short distance of a slalom requires a very different approach to a long hard endurance event. “
And what makes this even more inspiring, is that Dave and Andy will be the first paddlers to participate in the event from the UK.
Peak PS has provided some extra special custom printed jackets and PFD’s for their adventure/race. After the event these items will be auctioned, with all proceedings going to the Dove House Hospice in Hull. “Dove House Hospice has played a significant role in our community by providing exceptional end-of-life care support for members and their families. Our club has actively supported the hospice through various events in the past, but this particular undertaking marks our most ambitious endeavour yet.”
If you would like to find out more on this epic adventure, then please look through the links below.
All the best boys!
