Kempley Buchan-Smith
Kempley and Duncan's Challenge (BLESMA)
Fundraising for Blesma The Limbless Veterans
Story
You'll all be glad to hear that Duncan and I managed to complete the race in 24 hours and 38 seconds so just made our goal.
Thanks so much to all of you who have supported us, both financially and emotionally!
I hope that we will be able to reciprocate in due course.
Duncan and Kempley
Duncan and I have rather foolishly decided to enter into the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon 200.
Having both paddled in the past we thought it would be a fairly simple affair.
Wrong.
The race is 25 miles long and has 77 portages. The first 52 miles are along the Kennet and , the next 55 miles are on the River Thames and the final section is on the tidal portion of the .
The race is a severe test of skill and stamina which produces a memorable sense of achievement for those successfully completing it. The non-stop version of the race is the longest non-stop canoe race in the world.
We also didn't count on the fact that sitting in a is like trying to walk with both feet in a single stiletto.
With our training only started in mid January (lovely time of year for water sports) we now have "the fear".
Desperately we are paddling 5 times a week, 2 hours a day.
Insha'Allah we will be ready for 02 April and we are aiming to complete it in 24 hours.
Whilst doing something so stupid we decided it would be prudent to raise money for charity.
We are supporting Help for Heroes (http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/), the British Limbless Ex Servicemen Association (http://www.blesma.org/) and the Rifles Regimental Trust (www.justgiving.com/trrt).
Unfortunately, this web site does not allow you to add more than one charity per page and therefore we have three websites on Just Giving:
Please visit whichever site to contribute towards your preferred charity.
All entry fees and other costs will be covered by us or, when we can blag it, the MOD.
We hope to raise £2,000.00 and anything you give will be greatly appreciated.
Duncan and Kempley