Leighton Buzzard Paddlers host their local summer race

“Fortune favours the bold” goes the famous saying. A saying I don’t seem to have internalised for my race starts. I nosed my kayak towards the start line, but found myself crowded out by the starting field. The Leighton Buzzard Hasler race was home territory, but that meant a narrow canal and a challenging race.

The starter’s orders were a signal for chaos. Eleven boats surged forwards into a space that six could comfortably fit into. The water became a churning maelstrom, and I used my paddle as much in frantic efforts to stay upright and pointing vaguely forward as it was to make progress. This lasted for a couple of hundred metres - a frantic game of ‘survival of the skittish’. Relief came in a stroke of luck, as a couple of boats in the pack got into a tangle, veered off and got trapped between stationary barges, leaving my boat to pop out of the melee like a cork from a bottle.

Open water gave me a chance to push on, overtaking another fellow escapee a few hundred metres ahead, and leaving me within sight of the front three racers - all of them at least half my age and in lighter boats.

I kept them in view until the first turn, surviving another bout of heavy turbulence as the front-runners of earlier races met me at the narrowest part of the canal. A further stroke of luck as one of my younger competitors fell in at the turn, leaving me a clear run at the long straight.

This passed without incident, other than draining my rapidly depleting energy, and a ponderous final turn provided an excuse to catch my breath. A spectator gave me fresh impetus with the words “Adam is on your tail” and I managed a turn of speed towards the finish line. Exhausted, and expecting to be pipped at any minute to my bronze medal, when within sight of the line, I heard an almighty splash from behind me, followed by some fruity cursing. A third stroke of luck in a tough race. Occasionally, the middle-aged tortoise with a chronic medical condition gets lucky and beats the hare!

Overall, the Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club team scored second place in points in the Regional events, just one point behind the extremely strong Chelmsford team. There were multiple Leighton Buzzard race winners and podium places across the one person (K1) and two person (K2) races, and additionally with an excellent turn-out and showing in the under-14 category, as the next generation of Leighton paddlers proved their worth.

Congratulations and well done to all who raced!

Interested in joining a friendly and fun club? We run ‘Come and Try’ and training courses throughout summer from ages 9 and up - please email [email protected] or see lbcc.org.uk for details.