Post DW; What next?

[Wheezy]

Having finished the DW this year for the second time I am now asking myself 'What next?' I would like to do some Haslers this year having never raced in them and next year I am thinking that I would like to do the Watersides, but what else is out there that I should consider?

The Liffey descent looks bonkers and I'd love to have a go at it and I am trying to convince someone to do it with me. What other Marathon races are there that would be worth a go? What would you suggest?

Thanks,

W

[GrahamC]

Hi,

Can I make a suggestion for the Cheshire Ring Race? It is run by Macclesfield and District CC and is another all-nighter. 96 miles in length and with 92 locks to portage and 5 tunnels it is the longest race that you can do as a K1 in the country. It is also open to K2, canoes and relay teams. Infact if you can paddle you can enter! The record is 15 hours 27 minutes by Stuart West and the slowest is by a standard C2 at about 33 hours. It is great fun and is run at the end of June so the weather is usually much nicer than at Easter.

The race starts near Macclesfield then goes North through Manchester (yes, THROUGH MANCHESTER!) then west to Preston Brook via Warrington. You then turn South and paddle the Trent and Mersey canal to Stoke on Trent before turning left and heading back to Macclesfield. It is a circular route so is easy for support crew. You can get almost anywhere on the ring within an hour or so.

See http://www.madcc.co.uk/

Graham

[lennart]

gudena in denmakr in september is a great race. 120 km 2 day. nice landscpa wel organized.

other end of the spectrum sell decent in spain absolute bonkers grazy 1000 mass start 20 km riverrace first weekend of august...

[Hackworth]

Not canoeing for a while if you're anything like us!!!

Poole harbour is a fun 15 mile race in september marks the start of our season. We're also thinking stour descent. Ross Warland is normally a cold race, so therefore compulsory.

Cheshire ring is tempting, but to be honest the big issue is the compulsory support. If it were just the two of us we'd do it, but the thought of pushing our luck by asking for more support is sobering. Other halves can run out of interest in standing around with sandwiches in the middle of the night.

We will probably do a couple of long fast trips in the summer instead of racing. Depending on flow, it might be possible for us to do the length of the Thames in two days. If we had support we might just barely be able to do it in a day, but that's a bit too DW like at present

In fact that's where it started for us, with a trip from the Bristol channel to the English channel across Somerset and Devon. Happy days!

[Wheezy]

Thanks for the suggestions, lots to think about there. At the moment I'm trying to get myself a K1 boat in order that I can train more effectively than I have done so far. It looks like taking part in a Hasler or two will be a good place to start. Cheers. :-)

[mike rogers]

I am looking for someone to partner in a K2 for the Cheshire Ring race, I have completed DW Seniors in 2011 and 2012, the Ring race is excellent but hard work- if anyone is interested then give me a call on 07717 201082

[Derek Marshall]

You could come North for Scottish Racing week in June - 5 races in 8 days
http://www.canoescotland.org/Compete/Marathon/Marathon2012/ScottishRacingWeek2012.aspx

Or in October you could try the Glasgow to Edinburgh over 2 days
http://www.canoescotland.org/Compete/Marathon/Marathon2012/GlasgowEdinburghChallenge2012.aspx

And of course the Tay Descent
http://www.canoescotland.org/NewsEvents/TayDescent.aspx

All great are fun and present different challenges to be enjoyed.