Invitation to K1/C1 Vienna Canoe Marathon 2026
Please see below invitation and entry form for the 2026 K1/C1 Vienna Canoe Marathon sent from the event organisers.
Please see below invitation and entry form for the 2026 K1/C1 Vienna Canoe Marathon sent from the event organisers.
Following the assessment race at Norwich, the MRC Selection Committee selected the Under 23 and Under 18 team for the Development trip to Waterlands International Marathon. The team was selected according to the published policy.
To see the full selection note by the selection committee, click here.
REQUESTS FOR REVIEW
As per the 2026 Selection Policy (published here), any requests to review the selections must be made in writing to the Chair of the Selection Committee, Nanette North at Marathon Selectors [email protected] within 48 hours of the publication of this document,. by 18:00 Thursday 2nd April.
On behalf of the Marathon Selection Committee – Fay Lamph, 31/03/26
The Marathon Racing Committee have been notified by the 2026 Hasler Finals host club of the need to move the event date to the 13th September. It was previously advertised as the 20th September.
This date change is out of necessity by the Richmond Canoe Club for the event to happen and the MRC apologises for any disruption this might cause.
We look forward to another successful Hasler Finals event on the 13th September.
Joe Petersen and Brynde Kreft have set a new world record for paddling the navigable length of the River Thames, completing the route from Lechdale to Teddington in just 14 hours and 3 minutes – 1 hour and 44 minutes faster than the previous mark.
The pair launched beneath the bridge at Lechlade at 6:26am, beginning a relentless push down the Thames that would see them cover nearly 200km of river, tackle 43 lock portages, and paddle the final stretch in darkness before reaching Teddington at 8:29pm.
To read the full article and interview, visit the Paddle UK News page here.
Please see below message and invitation from Dave Martyn, the Sprint Racing Committee Chair. For more information, visit the SRC website here.
On behalf of the SRC, you are invited to a webinair on Monday March 16th at 20:00
The purpose of the call is to start a conversation across our community. We know that the sport needs to grow, we can only do this by working together. The SRC does not have the monopoly on good ideas, but might have information some people have not considered.
Come along and join in the conversation on how we can make our sport more fun for more people.
The session is open to anyone who has an interest. Come along, understand the issues, discuss with friends and family and see what ideas we can come up with as a community. The SRC will have a desk at each regatta ,come and see us there or contact any of us at your convenience.
We intend to have a plan for 2027 by the September regatta so get involved early to make your opinions count.
Please use the link below to access the webinar and please feel free to share the link with others who may be interested.
The first marathon assessment race of the 2026 season is being held at Norwich Canoe Club on Saturday 28th March. Results from this event will be used to select the Under 18 and Under 23 Waterlands Marathon development team for the trip in April. For full information on the selection process, please visit the selection policy here.
To be considered for selection, athletes must complete the availability form by 22:00 on 25th March. This can be found here.
Entry and details for the race are available on the marathon racing entry site here.
Sign up is now open for the fourth JDS winter series event for 2025/26. This will be taking place at the Norwich Canoe Club on Saturday 21st March and will be led by Matt Robinson & Scott Hynds, alongside the wider Junior Development Squad coaching team.
In addition to the event on the Saturday, Norwich Canoe Club will be running a sprint regatta on Sunday 22 March for juniors, in conjunction with hosting the BUCS regatta. Therefore, the JDS is partnering with Norwich CC to offer a full weekend of activity for juniors engaged in the JDS programme.
Saturday will focus on racing skills that can be applied at Sunday’s regatta and Sunday’s regatta will consist of K1 500, K1 5000 and a K1 200 mixed relay. Both Saturday and Sunday will be in K1s.
The cost to attend the full weekend is £22.00, but there is also a ticket option for those who just want to attend Saturday’s JDS session.
Travel, accommodation and food are to be organised individually, unfortunately we cannot offer any of these as part of the weekend.
For standards to attend and to sign up, please click HERE. Sign up closes on Friday 13th March at 17:00.
Junior Development Squad (JDS) is a joint initiative between the Marathon Racing Committee, Sprint Racing Committee and Paddle England Talent. Having been running as a collaborative exercise since 2021, the JDS has supported hundreds of juniors from a wide spread of clubs to develop their racing skills, create long-term friendships and increase exposure to crew boats. For more information on JDS, please visit our website page here with further links onto the main JDS site.
The Marathon Racing Committee are excited to finally confirm all the dates and venues for the 2026 Major Events. The variety of venues and locations, particularly new ones, makes 2026 a great time to get racing as much as you can!
Thank you to Manvers Lake Trust and Boathouse, Wey Kayak Club and Richmond Canoe Club for supporting canoe marathon by hosting and organising one of our major national events this year.
Keep your eyes peeled for a confirmation of the ACM date and further details on all our major events in the coming months!
On Sunday 30th November, Banbury & District Canoe Club hosted the 25th Anniversary of the Ross Warland Memorial Canal Challenge, with over 192 competitors taking part. The course ran 20 miles from Cropredy to Nell Bridge near Anyho and back, including 12 portages along the Oxford Canal. Paddlers travelled from across the country, from Truro to Norwich to Runcorn, with both international-level crews and newcomers to racing. The event raised almost £1,500 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.
The race is held each year in memory of Ross Warland, who died of bone cancer in February 2000 at the age of 21. Ross joined Banbury Canoe Club at the age of 8 and was an active and popular member. When he was no longer able to paddle, he devoted his time to coaching and training others. His courage and attitude during his illness inspired everyone who knew him.
The format of the Challenge is distinctive, offering options for different abilities. Competitors can complete the full 20 miles in K1 or K2, race in relays over 10 miles, or enter special categories if clubs are short of paddlers. This makes the event particularly appealing to junior crews and those new to racing, providing valuable training in a competitive but welcoming environment.
This year’s race produced several notable results. Sam Dickson (Falcon Canoe Club) matched the Junior Men’s K1 record with a time of 02:33:22. Andrew Birkett (Richmond Canoe Club) set a new Veteran Men’s K1 record at 02:41:32. Elise Montagna (Royal Canoe Club) and Katie Brookes (Richmond Canoe Club) won the Senior Women’s K2 title in 02:42:25. Brynde Kreft (Falcon Canoe Club) set a new Senior Women’s K1 record at 02:51:29, while Frankie Scrivener (Falcon Canoe Club) broke the Junior Women’s K1 record with 03:07:39. Rebecca Bird (Newbury Canoe Club) and Anja Whelan (Gloucester Canoe Club) also set a new Veteran Women’s K2 record at 03:18:55.
The 25th Anniversary Canal Challenge was a successful day of racing and community spirit, continuing the tradition of honouring Ross Warland and supporting bone cancer research. The MRC would like to thank Banbury Canoe Club for their support in creating this write-up as well as their dedication to creating such a stable winter marathon event within the British racing calendar.
The National School Canoe Championships returned to Hawley Lake in Farnborough in 2025 for its fourth consecutive year as a joint-organised partnership between the Paddle UK Marathon Racing Committee and the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race Organisation. The event was created with the main objective to encourage grassroots paddling at a school level, and the development of school teams in paddlesport.
Six schools took part this year, with paddlers representing Norwich School, Cokethorpe School, Lord Wandsworth College, Kimbolton School, Heathside School, and Bryanston School. To take part, all schools have to show an active commitment to supporting paddlesport with their students, whether that be leading the coaching through their own staffing body or using a clubs expert coaching to run a school canoe/kayak club as part of their co-curriculum/sport offering.
The morning programme featured sprint races over 500 metres and 200 metres in both Experienced and Novice categories. In the Experienced 500m final, Jasmine Sargeant and Dominic Walker of Norwich School claimed victory in 01:58:20. The Novice 500m final was won by Henry Wills-Cole and Charlie Williams of Lord Wandsworth College in 02:18:20, an impressive result given they only began paddling in September. The 200m knockout races added further excitement. In the Experienced final, Sargeant and Walker once again came out on top, securing the overall sprint trophy for the second year running. Imogen Field and Madison McKernan of Heathside School finished second, while Tom Barrett and Theo Brown of Kimbolton School took third. The Novice final was chaotic, with only three boats crossing the line upright, but Hugo Dawe and Hayden Nundy of Norwich School managed to win in their first ever race. Consistency across both sprint distances, however, saw Eddie Bird and Abi MacDonald of Lord Wandsworth College secure the overall Novice sprint trophy, ahead of teammates Daniel Dain and Xander Ramage in second and Dawe and Nundy in third.
After lunch, crews turned to the marathon races. The Experienced category covered six laps with five portages, while Novices raced four laps with three portages. Sargeant and Walker once again showed their strength, breaking away after the final portage to secure the marathon win. Field and McKernan of Heathside School took second place and the women’s trophy, with Sam Price and Ariana Mackie, also of Heathside, finishing third.
Speaking after the overall marathon and sprint win, Jasmine said, “It was a great day of racing, and exciting to see all the other schools taking part. It was fun to do – the multiple types of races in one day made it really special particularly as it was very well organised.”
In the Novice category, Wills-Cole and Williams of Lord Wandsworth College opened an early lead and held it to win by more than a minute. Luca Duncan and Freddie Kornerup, also from Lord Wandsworth, finished second, while Bird and MacDonald secured third place and the Novice mixed trophy. Daisy Mathieson and Lottie Graves of Cokethorpe School claimed the Novice women’s title.
Lord Wandsworth College’s depth was evident, with 12 of the 17 Novice crews coming from the school. Their dominance earned them the Novice team trophy, for another year, and the Novice women’s team trophy.
After reflecting on Lord Wandsworth College performance at the event, Adam Reid (Head of Canoeing at the school) said, “For LWC’s novice paddlers the Schools Nationals was a fantastic experience. Not only was it a great opportunity to mix with teams from other schools, and to start to build relationships, it also exposed them to competitive flat-water paddling across a range of distances, and enabled them to see some top-flight paddlers in action. To come away with the novice trophy was a tremendous boost to their confidence, and has inspired them to continue to work hard on their technique and stamina.”
Heathside School reclaimed the Experienced team trophy after returning to the competition following a year’s absence.
Full results can be found below and here.
The National Schools Canoe Championships will return to Hawley Lake in 2026 on Sunday 15th November. Schools wishing to enter should review the entry criteria here.
If you are currently working within a school and interested in how to get more paddlesport programmes up and running, contact Holly Mobbs, the MRC Junior Development Lead, for guidance.