Category: National

The Marathon Racing Committee would like to thank Worcester Canoe Club for another exceptionally run major national event last week. It was brilliant to see so many clubs and their members engaging with marathon racing from Geoff Sanders categories all the way to Division 1. It truly demonstrated that marathon racing is for everyone; no matter the age, ability or experience.

We would also like to congratulate Elmbridge Canoe Club for retaining the Hasler Series trophy. Will any club be able to challenge their current dominance in 2026?

Following a review by the ranking officer, several additional promotions have been made, including adjustments made on the day. The on-the-day results and points announced on the day will stand.

The 2025 Hasler Finals will take place on Sunday 5th October in Worcester, marking the conclusion to a busy and hard-fought club Hasler season. This event brings together the top qualifying clubs from across the country to battle it out for the coveted Club Hasler Trophy, as well as many other trophies available for individual paddlers results.

Alongside the Hasler Finals, the Under 14 Geoff Sanders competition also reaches its climax. This is the final opportunity for clubs to earn points toward the club Geoff Sanders Trophy, and unlike the main Hasler races, no prior qualification is required, making it a fantastic chance for newer paddlers to get involved and experience the excitement of national-level racing.

For full details and to enter, head over to the entries page.

This weekend sees Norwich play host to the biggest annual canoe marathon event in the country. We are super excited to see some tight racing and who manages to claim (or reclaim!) national championship titles.

Whether you are a member of the canoe marathon community or someone who has never watched canoe marathon before, there are lots of ways you can follow along with all the action over both days of racing.

In Person and Locally

If you are local to Norwich, head down Norwich Canoe Club in Whitlingham Country Park (NR14 8TR) from 9am on Saturday 28th or 8:30am on Sunday 27th to catch some racing in person. There will be commentary, food stands, trade stands, starts, finishes and one of the two portages taking place in this location so lots of action to watch! Racing will typically finish around 4:30pm each day. A particular highlight will be the Mixed K2 (2-person Kayak) race on Sunday starting at 3:00pm. Check out some of the links below for further information.

Online

Throughout the weekend, the Marathon Racing Committee and Norwich Canoe Club will be providing coverage via live streams, stories and posts on their social media channels, particularly their Instagram’s. Click the names above to gain access to both accounts.

There will also be live results published throughout the day via the Norwich Canoe Club website or the our website live results page.

Further Information

Live entries can be now be viewed here.

A full timetable of events and classes can be found here as well as the full details on the courses for each class.

This weekend, over 700 competitors will head to Norwich to chase the prestigious title of National Champion across every age group, boat class (canoe, kayak, para, SUP), and gender category. With so many strong contenders on the start line, the podium battles are guaranteed to be tight. Who will rise to the top to claim the overall win?

In the Senior K1 and K2 categories, title battles look apparent in both Men and Women fields. In the Senior Men’s K1, reigning European and National Champion James Russell (Chelmsford Canoe Club) returns to defend his title. But with top challengers including Charlie Smith, Matthew Johnson, and Daniel Johnson (all from Nottingham Kayak Club), plus international entry Syver Borge Saksvik from Norway, it promises to be a fierce fight.

In the Senior Women’s K1, reigning champ Melissa Johnson (Nottingham Kayak Club) faces tough competition from international medalist and former National Champion Samantha Rees-Clark, also representing Nottingham Kayak Club.

In the Senior Men’s K2, the field is wide open. Previous champions aren’t racing together, with Matthew Johnson now paired with Matthew Collinge (Fowey River Canoe Club). European Championship crews, including James Russell & Charlie Smith, and Sam Cribbett & Joseph Enoch (both Nottingham Kayak Club), are sure to be in contention as well, while other crews are more than capable of a surprise podium finish. This could be potentially one of the most exciting race of the weekend.

The Senior Women K2 race has four boats who could all compete for podium spots with our two European Championship crews of Katie Brookes (Richmond Canoe Club) and Elise Montagna (Royal Canoe Club), and Jessie Urquhart (Nottingham Kayak Club) and Brynde Kreft (Falcon Canoe Club) lining up alongside experienced international medalist Fay Lamph pairing with Greta Roeser (Wey Kayak Club) as well as Nerys Hall and Samantha Martyn (Wey Kayak Club).

Of course, this is just a small glimpse into the packed programme of racing taking place across the weekend. This year marks a milestone with the highest number of KL3 para entries ever, highlighting the growth of the para marathon fields. The action builds to a thrilling finale on Sunday afternoon with the Mixed K2, a large and fiercely competitive field that’s sure to deliver a dramatic close. Many of the age group categories are also shaping up to be incredibly close, promising exciting battles from start to finish.

For a follow look at all the entries for this years National Championships, click here.

For full details of races and timings for the day, visit Norwich Canoe Clubs event specific site here.

We will try to provide as many updates as we can via our Social Media sites throughout the two days of action but also tune into Norwich Canoe Clubs Social Media sites for additional coverage.

We are looking forward to a weekend of exciting!

The British National Short Course Championships 2025 provided new challenges for the 180-strong field with unusual windy and cool conditions, but marathon racers still produced an exciting show for onlookers.

A busy one-day competition, Short Course Nationals is marathon racing’s most exciting, action-packed distance with 3.6k and 2 portages of fast-paced tactics and group dynamics.

The event was created by James Symthe, the secretary of the Marathon Racing Committee and Team Manager of international teams. The 2025 edition of the event returned to Nene Park in Peterborough for a fourth year in a row, but sadly, the perfectly calm and warm weather conditions we had come to expect from the location did not return. Competitors were greeted with gusts of up to 27 mph and a cold edge to the area. This did not stop for some very intense and close racing from all categories.

To continue to read the rest of the report, please visit the paddleUK website news article here.

We are now three weeks away from the 2025 edition of Short Course Nationals. If you have a company that would be interested in a trade stand or to sponsor the event in any way (if you are still yet to talk to us), please get in touch.

Email Holly Mobbs the event organiser to start the conversation.