Sandra Jeffs
The Paddling Partners
Fundraising for The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust
Story
UPDATE .... UPDATE ....UPDATE .....
The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race is the longest non-stop Canoe Marathon in the World - 125 miles of non-stop paddling. Our challenge sadly ended at Staines!!!
Thank you all for you kind words and generous sponsorship. As you probably know, sadly we were unable to complete the full course.
The first 55 miles of the course went really well and we were ahead of our scheduled time. We were feeling pretty good and had a great pit-stop at Tyle Mill (in the back of a transit) which had to be seen to be believed.
From Boulters Lock in Maidenhead (approx 75 miles) the strain began to take its toll. We carried on, but each stroke was a massive effort and it was hard to hold the paddle. At Runnymede, we were well behind our scheduled time and would have had to pull something big out of an empty bag. Despite the anxieties of our support crew, we decided to put back in and try to carry on. However, within 5 minutes, Sandra's arm gave up and our race was sadly over. We sat on the bank together at Staines with tears of disappointment and exhaustion. We had paddled for 21 hours and 40 minutes, covered 92 miles and lifted and carried the boat around 70 of the 77 locks!!
You all know how much this meant to us and the effort that has gone into our training. We couldn't have given it any more and both feel that it was a phenominal effort against bad odds. The weather on Saturday was at times hard to endure, the flow on the tide was the lowest in recent race history and I carried an injury from he beginning of the race.
We are however, immensely proud to have taken part with such a great crew of family, friends and supporters to help us along the way. We have no regrets and an even greater understanding as to the incredible challenge that Devizes to Westminster really is.
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support that you have all made. The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust are delighted and all the money raised will really make a massive difference to them.
THANK YOU for YOUR HELP. xx
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