So, we did it! And we are all alive and well and here to tell the story, so here goes..!
It all started with a 2 hour trek across the Peak District straight after work on Friday, then unpacking and setting up the tents by the light of the headlamps. By 9pm it was raining again and so it was off to the welcoming fires of the Anchor Inn to warm up and get some dutch courage for the day ahead.Saturday also began in the dark, but this time at 5.30am! An hour later we were scoffing bacon butties and gearing up at the check-in point. After another sprint across country, we finally got underway at 8 in glorious weather, with the first paddlers, Paul & Andrew, making superb progress overtaking one team and keeping ahead of the Endeavour Chesterfield crew. Alas this could not last and a couple of stages later we had fallen a good 10 minutes behind Endeavour and it was clear we had a race on our hands!
We quickly found our rhythm though, and one of the most impressive aspects of the day was the teamwork– Amar’s highly capable driving of the minibus was ably assisted by James and Jason armed with a TomTom app that could make sense of the longitude and latitude co-ordinates for the changover points. Matt and other non-rowers made it their job to jog alongside, help at locks and act as a beacon for the long hauls, thereby enabling the rowing pairs to focus their energies entirely on ploughing the boat forward as fast as possible. With the whole operation running like clockwork, and notwithstanding Sam and Morgan being rammed by an incompetent narrowboater, we gradually drew level with Endeavour over the next gruelling 7 hours or so!At the final changeover we were neck and neck, and a sterling effort by Ian and Paul, both on their 4 rowing stint, nudged us ahead… but only until the last few hundred yards, when - within sight of the finishing line - Endeavour struck back, and with a superhuman effort piloted their canoe to finally end 2 boat lengths in front of team ESP. Not that it mattered! We had smashed our previous time by a clear hour, completing the 33 mile course in 8 and a half hours and raising over £1300 for Endeavour in the process.
A hot shower and a few well-earned drinks back at the campsite rounded the day off, and although it was a shame we had to pack up in the driving rain on Sunday morning, I think its safe to say that we all went home with a glow in our hearts!So, on behalf of the whole team, we’d like to thank all sponsors again for helping to make this exciting and memorable event a success. And as for the team, all I can say is ‘you did us proud’! Go ESP!
