Endurancelife 7x7x7

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The endurancelife 7x7x7 - Day 5 - Kayaking Marathon

08.07.2005

This was the day that all the athletes had been dreading. 26.2 miles of non stop paddling on sit -on-top kayaks that take considerable effort to paddle at more than 3 miles per hour- simple arithmetic predicted finish times of up to 9 hours. After the 4 previous day\'s marathons this was going to be a real challenge of their endurance and their resolve.

The kayaking took place at Roadford Reservoir north west of Dartmoor on the Devon Cornwall borders - the wind was blowing and as the minibus arrived full of anxious athletes, the white tops of the waves on these usually calm waters made ominous viewing.

The competitors had prepared back rests and seats of various descriptions to try and prevent numb limbs and sore muscles, but after the first hour\'s paddling it became obvious that these would be of little solace!

Straight from the starting line a group of 3 took the lead and were to maintain it for the entire event. Graham Walton, Joe Green and Shaun Callaghan, were competing paddle for paddle, with blades in unison as they ate up the miles. As they progressed through the 7 lap course, Graham and Shaun managed to power away from Joe and as they started the final lap it was still neck and neck for first and second position. Shaun had saved the most energy in reserve and during the last half lap he powered away from Graham, the hours of training paying off as he stormed home in a time of 6hrs and 27 minutes. Graham finished second in 6.29 and Joe came in 3rd in 6.42.

Further down the field there were notable performances by many, especially Natasha Ballard who maintained her smile yet again, coming in in 9.13. The real display of endurance however was shown by Ruth White, who captured the essence of this bizarre competition, by fighting the desire to quit and overcoming the fatigue and beating the course. She simply refused to be beaten, she persevered and after 10hrs and 29 minutes she came home to rapturous applause from her friends and family waiting proudly on the shoreline.

There are only 2 days to go now, the cycling time trial on Friday and the multi-sport tri on Saturday and despite Joe Green maintaining his overall lead, Graham and Shaun are hot on his heels and Graham is favourite on paper for the biking events - so it\'s likely to come down to the final event before we can crown one incredibly fit endurance athlete the endurancelife 7x7x7 Champion 2005.

For today\'s full results please see: For full results go to http://www.endurancelife.com/races/seven/five05.asp
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