Tue, 18 April, 2023
TWI composites engineer, Chris Page completed a gruelling 125-mile canoe up the Thames in aid of two charities, MIND and TEECH.
Chris and his father used a two-man Canadian C2 touring canoe to enter the annual Devizes-to-Westminster (DW) canoe race, starting in the early hours of Saturday 8 April and planning to complete the route in just one day!
The 125 mile race included 77 portages where the canoe needed to be hauled from the water and carried, while flooding on the Thames at the time also added to the difficulty.
In fact, due to the flooding only 39 of the more experienced crews were allowed to set off, despite 80 crews entering to take part. This was because of the inherent dangers of canoeing across flooded weirs and other obstacles – not to mention having to row sections of the route in the dark!
The six-days-a-week training schedule leading up to the race seemed to pay off as Chris and his dad managed to complete the DW in 26 hours and 23 minutes.
Chris opted to split his fundraising efforts equally between the mental-health charity MIND and TEECH (Telecommunications Eastern European Challenge), who fund local projects across Eastern Europe. Having already raised around £2,000, Chris’ efforts have certainly not gone to waste and there is still time to donate.
We would like to congratulate Chris (and his dad) on this amazing achievement, which was accomplished despite the unfavourable conditions.
Those who would like to donate to Chris’ fundraising page can still do so by hitting the link, here.