Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. We hope you can help us in raising money for the Army Benevolent Fund, on behalf of Southampton University Officers Training Corps (SUOTC).

This year, we (Mike and Rory) will attempt to complete the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon, armed with only a carbon fibre K2 kayak, two paddles and a buoyancy aid each that we hope we won’t need… Put simply, its 125 miles non-stop over a gruelling 24 hours and needless to say, it will be the hardest thing we have ever had to do. Each year, around 30% of competitors fail. For more details on the event and to see how hard it really is, just ask Steve Redgrave (he failed…): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-17649561

So far, we’ve been training at least 5 times a week in sub-zero temperatures and have competed in 2 out of 6 build-up races. Our SUOTC (semi-professional) support crew (Adam, Eddie, Steph, Hannah, Hugh, Rob and Cullum) have done a brilliant job of helping us so far and will be suffering alongside us every step of the way on the DW. Some even argue that supporting is as hard as the event itself; but one thing’s for sure, we absolutely would not be able to do it without them.

Training is looking promising and a sub-24 hour finishing time is in sight, but now we need your help! As you may know, we are all interested in military careers and the Army Benevolent Fund is a fantastic charity to help. They provide vital and much needed financial help to both serving and retired soldiers and their families. They have been providing help for 66 years and exist solely to support military families. For more information on the ABF, please see the link on this page.

So, what can you do for us? Firstly, you can keep track of our progress via the pictures below. But more importantly, you can donate any sum of money via this page. Each donation will be well received and will provide the much needed support to our soldiers and their families, so please dig deep and give generously.

Thank you and we’ll see you at Westminster!

Mike and Rory