Congratulations to ASI Instructor, Martin Rendle. Norfolk Boards Ultra SUP Race UK June 2018.

ENGLAND UK.  ASI Instructor and SUP School Owner, Martin Rendle, came in 3rd place, in the 2nd Norfolk Broads Ultra SUP Race organised by Jo Hamilton-Vale of UK SUP on 9-10 June 2018.  Martin provides an overview of how it all went for him.

This was a 2 day affair racing around the Northern Norfolk Broads network covering a total of 70k across the two days.  This was my very first SUP Ultra and I was feeling good but had no expectations as to how I was going to perform. 

The weather was kind in that it was overcast and not too hot, with a breeze that was just enough to be challenging and a good percentage of both days against a small tide, so this made the whole 70km a little bit of a slog for over 3/4 of the race distance.

I was racing in the Airboard Class and was riding a N1SCO One Design 12’6’ - this was easily the shortest and widest board (30”) in the entire air board fleet, and all other inflatables racing were 14’ and much skinnier.  

The end of Day 1 saw me put in a good but surprising performance in that I brought home 12th place overall (against some super carbon and slick SUP weaponry) and 3rd place in the Airboard fleet.  

Day two was an absolute slogfest after pushing quite hard on Day 1, but after all this effort I managed to close down my time deficit on 2nd place but just not quite enough to take the next step up on the podium.  

The end result of the race was that I’d managed to hold on to my 3rd place over the 70km (in 8 hours 59 mins & 50 secs.) and secured a podium slot. Obviously I’m super happy with the result and next year will be racing in the Non-Stop race where the 70k will be undertaken all in one day.

Now off to Swanage for the 2nd round of the UK N1SCO SUP Champs – where I’m currently sitting 14th overall and 4th in Masters – let’s see if there’s anything left in the tank…!

Martin Rendle is the owner of Norfolk Outdoor Adventures, an ASI accredited SUP School, based in Norfolk. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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