I'm not very good at canoeing. I regularly fall out of my boat. 96 miles is a long way to drive, never mind paddle. If I complete this it will be, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done and I've played rugby league!

My sister, (ex England rugby Union captain, Catherine Spencer,) is heavily involved with the Tag Rugby Trust and has helped to bring rugby and  community development to many less fortunate areas of the world. My brother, (geography teacher and classy outside centre Gregory Spencer,) has got in the act, broadening the horizons of his pupils by taking them from Gillingham to Zambia, again to help build communities.

I am lucky that I have the time in my life to pointlessly train and race for 96 miles in a canoe. I am lucky that I have a job, so that I can buy the canoe and lucky that there's a physio down the road to rebuild my shoulders. I'm also lucky that there are things like canoe clubs and rugby clubs where you can do fun things.  Many people around the world do not have the sort of opportunities we take for granted. This is one way, albeit only small, of helping to redress this imbalance.

Donate money now, pay later if I manage it, or sponsor me per mile if you want. As I said I'm not very good at canoeing so I may not make 96 miles, it could be a cheap round.

Thank You,

Martin

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