While 9 members of Duddon’s racing team were competing on Windermere, 11 members of the racing team went to the river Calder in Yorkshire to compete in Pennine canoe clubs Hasler marathon race to get some practice in before the next race in the North West region to be held at Macclesfield.
This was the first time Harvey Petcher raced over the 8 mile distance which also involved portaging it was also his older sister Jasmines first race &the first time Victoria Longstaff raced the 4 mile distance without her K2 partner. There was a small but competitive field in divisions 5,6,7 & 9, conditions on the day were good and all the races started without any mishaps.
Lee Bentley & Petcher were going well in the pack up to the first portage where the paddlers have to get out of their boat and run with it a set distance then get back in and continue with the race, the first get out point was over a metre above the water so it presented a few problems for the pair however they managed to negotiate the obstacle and continue with the race finishing 4th & 5th.
Victoria didn’t fare so well in her boat and finished well down the field a new experience for her but I’m sure she will train hard and bounce back in her next race , Andy Longstaff completed the Div 7 race in 2nd place beating his previous best by 20 seconds.
Duddon had 4 paddlers in Division 9, It was Jasmine Petchers first ever marathon race and Emily Longstaffs first race after her GCSE’s, John Sherwen did the race in a Canoe. All raced well with Longstaff finishing in 3rd with Ruth McKenny only 12 seconds behind her.
After the adults races it was time for the junior lightning’s and sadly there were only 2 entries in the under 10’s so the Bentley boys raced each other for bragging rights in the car home.
Results:
Div 6 – 3rd Lee Bentley, 4th Harvey Petcher
Div 7 – 2nd Andy Longstaff, 5th Victoria Longstaff
Div 9 – 3rd Emily Longstaff, 4th Ruth McKenny, 7th Jasmine Petcher, 8th John Sherwen
U 10 Lightnings – 1st Connor Bentley, 2nd Ryan Bentley