27 July 2014

SUP Marathon

Apish completes a SUP Marathon on the River Thames

There are many firsts here.

Apish’s first time out of South Africa, first time on a plane, first time on a SUP…it still didn’t stop him winning the Waves for Change Thames SUP marathon challenge on the 26th July 2014!

The annual Thames SUP Challenge is a charity paddle on the river Thames to raise funds for the Waves for Change programme. Launched in 2013 as a 6 mile mass participation event, this year’s edition saw the addition of a 20 mile race for the hardy paddlers. Waves for Change founders Apish and Tim flew over from Cape Town to take part.

Launching from Shepperton, the 20 mile paddle took them through various London boroughs until they landed up on the docks by the iconic Hammersmith Bridge. A slight miscalculation of the notorious Thames tides lead to a gruelling 7 hour paddle, blisters, numb feet and the odd unexpected swim. But together with co-paddlers Julian, Vladimir and Phil, they arrived safe and sound at Hammersmith, raising £2,000 for the Waves for Change programme in the process.

We would like to thank our partners at Friends of Isiqalo UK for putting the event on again, and to our partners at Ticket to Rise and Active 360 for pulling it all together. Big thanks as well to Alibi drinks and Harbour breweries for keeping us refreshed during and after the race and we look forward to seeing you all again next year!