Shropshire Paddlesport: Marathon Racing

Marathon Racing

Marathon Canoeing is a marathon recreation sport in which paddlers race marathon boats over a range of distances. The marathon has been an Olympic sport three times, in 1936, 1956, and 1976. Currently, marathon racing is represented at World Major Marathons events by the International Marathon Racing Association World Tour.

Marathon kayak Development

The marathon race is organised like a regatta with mass starts and staggered starts (called “wave starts”). Boats begin at intervals of several minutes to 15 or more boats per minute. The object is to paddle the marathon boat as fast as possible over the marathon course, usually in a river marathon race. Therefore paddling technique and boat speed is important.

Marathon Training

The club has a long tradition of marathon canoeing and they can be seen practicing every Saturday morning. We now have two longer boats which are a lot more stable than the ones in the pictures and they make a great starter boat to have a try on the Montgomery canal next to the club house. These two boats will be popular and so make sure you book them in advance. We have spare marathon canoes once you feel confident to have a go with the real thing.