Novice canoeist prepares for gruelling 125-mile river race
A NOVICE paddler who took up the sport less than two years ago has joined forces with a seasoned expert to take part in a gruelling 125-mile river race for charity.
Rebecca Bird, 53, will be making her debut in this year’s Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race alongside Alex Burt, 46, a former Team GB slalom canoeist and serving Army Lieutenant Colonel who has completed the race four times before.
The pair, who live in Newbury and are members of the town’s canoe club, will be hitting the water in a pairs kayak on Saturday, March 30, and paddling non-stop, aiming to finish within 21 hours.
They have so far raised £640 towards their £1,000 target for Prostate Cancer UK, which they chose after a mutual friend and fellow club member was diagnosed with the illness.
Their challenge will take them from Devizes in Wiltshire, along the Kennet and Avon Canal, through Hungerford, Newbury and Aldermaston, onto the River
Thames at Reading, through Marlow and Windsor and finally on to the tidal Thames at Teddington.
The race ends at Westminster Bridge in central London, opposite the Houses of Parliament.
Along the way they will face 77 “portages”, where they will have to get out of the water to carry their kayak past a lock before getting back in on the other side.
They each expect to burn at least 600 calories per hour, so will be accompanied by a seven-strong support crew to supply them with water, spare clothing and highenergy food like sandwiches, boiled potatoes, bananas, and flapjacks all cut into small bite-sized pieces.
The crew will be led by Paul Jackson, 55, a fellow Newbury resident who was set to be Rebecca’s partner in the race but was unexpectedly diagnosed with prostate cancer during a routine check last autumn.
Paul has also paddled from Devizes to Westminster four times before, twice with his wife Kathryn, and only got checked because she urged him. The illness was thankfully caught early and, after undergoing treatment, he is set to make a full recovery.
Rebecca, a local government communications officer, got into paddling after signing up for a beginners’ course with the club in May 2022.
She only expected it to become a casual hobby, but quickly moved up from racing division 9, or entry level, to the more competitive division 5 in just three months. She entered her first race in May last year.
“Paul and I started training together last summer and by autumn we were both keen to try the new relay version of the DW,” she said.
“Last year at this time, I thought you had to be a bit mad to want to put yourself through something so challenging, both physically and mentally. But I now fully get the attraction and am so excited to be doing it.”