Get ready for an unforgettable paddling adventure at The Paddle Skedaddle on May 10, 2025, in the breathtaking Norfolk Broads, UK. This ultra-long-distance SUP race, organized by seasoned coach and endurance specialist Martin Rendle, offers two thrilling options: the 26.5km Single Skedaddle and the challenging 53km Double Trouble. Perfect for paddlers of all disciplines—SUP, Prone, or SurfSki—the event combines stunning scenery, historical waterways, and a test of mental and physical endurance. Whether you’re a seasoned racer or training for events like 11 Cities, this is your chance to push boundaries. Don’t wait—sign up here!
The Norfolk Broads is the UK’s newest National Park and is the only place of its kind in all of Europe, with over 260km of connected, paddlable waterways made up of natural rivers and further enhanced by man-made ‘broads’ (broads are wide but relatively shallow man-made bodies of water – a little like small lakes around 1.7m deep), making it totally unique and one of he best places in the UK to paddle. The Norfolk Broads are steeped in local history going back as far as the medieval period, and with the waterways being an integral part of the area’s local history, all of which goes into making The Paddle Skedaddle one of the prettiest, nature and history filled races in the entirety of the UK.
The introduction of the Skedaddle ‘Double Trouble’ 53km was a natural progression for the race given that the uniqueness of the race started out as a one way ‘point to point’ type, and so to add in an out and back version over the same course by running it essentially ‘backwards’ first, kind of made it quite an exciting thought. As an Ultra Endurance paddler myself with a history of undertaking longer style races, such as The Yukon1000 being my biggest, I understand fully that it is mostly the ‘mind’ and ‘not the body’ which can become the crippling factor when it comes to being able to make the distance or not.
So, by planting the seed in the mind that not only do you have to paddle 26.5km once, but you have to head out there and paddle it twice (53km), and over the same course with the same features (however beautiful they are) – can ultimately be the difference between success and failure. We tend to place so much emphasis on equipment such as boards, paddles, and clothing etc, that when it comes down to it in the end, if you keep feeding your body with calories, it will keep on going, however if your mind give’s up then sadly it’s generally a short day in the endurance office for you – or a very uncomfortable one at that! With all of this in mind, I feel that the Skedaddle Double Trouble will be a challenge for even the most experienced Endurance paddler.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of this event and one that may attract European paddlers especially is the fact that this race could be the perfect preparation for The 11 Cities in Holland, this since the waterways and landscape here on the Norfolk Broads is pretty much identical to that of The 11 Cities. At one time in geographical history, our two countries at the location of East Anglia (where the Broads are in the UK) and that of Holland, were physically connected and were once one of the same, therefore both locations share the same characteristics. They’re both within low-laying land, both share rivers, canals, plants, trees (or lack of them), have a flow on the water and also quite a bit of wind…so for anyone training for 11 Cities, then The Paddle Skedaddle is a perfect training race opportunity…!
We have always tried hard to deliver the safest races possible, with GPS tracking, water safety cover and first aid responses, but in addition, we also try to allow people to experience the race in a way that gives them the opportunity to feel just a little ‘on the edge, alone, or just to be by themselves and within their own thoughts’ – so no one holding their hand all the way, but for them to be assured that they’re being monitored throughout.
A few measures we put in place is right from the point of entry, by advising everyone that there are time limits and cut-offs to complete the courses. Now…these time limits are actually quite generous, as we want to attract as many people as possible, but we also want to people to come to our events and actually ‘race’ – and in order to race, then need to be fully trained in advance. Therefore, by advertising in the very beginning the average speeds required to get to the finish in the allowed time, I feel gives the competitors a great opportunity to take the race seriously, train hard, and then realise all of that training and planning on the day in order to get the best possible result! I think we’re one of the very few races that put a time limit on a race, which is there to encourage the right attitude and mindset from the very point of pressing the ‘Enter Event’ button…!
As mentioned earlier having a deep relationship with endurances races and not only in paddling, but also with Ironman Triathlon, endurance swimming and 12/24 hour XC MTB, you can have the best and most expensive equipment but not having a trained mind can be the easiest difference between success and failure. I also have a background in ‘endurance performance fuelling’ so simply, how to get the right calories in the body at the right times in order for them to work in harmony with the body to provide a positive performance outcome.
All of this experience, coupled with the fact that I know the area so very well (I’ve paddled 1000’s of kms on these waters) suggest that the Norfolk Boards look easy to paddle, but this can be very much misleading. The Broads are ’tidal’ – not much, but enough to make an easy paddle into a hard one, then there’s also the wind, it’s always windy here on the Norfolk Broads – so if you’ve got a year with both wind and tide, then you’re in for a hard day in the paddle office…! All of this makes this event very different to most races that are around at the moment here in the UK.
Of course I’ll always promote a good paddle stroke and one that is created on the flatwater is very different to that which is used in ocean and choppy waters, so understanding different stroke mechanics and how to use different stokes in different conditions can have a huge impact on performance, so learning a nice, solid and efficient basic stroke is ultimately what I’d be looking to implement early in a paddlers endurance paddling journey. However, it’s not all about the paddling of course, and I’ve always said that you can have an inefficient stroke, but if you’re the fittest person on the water that day, you’ll probably do ok! So when looking at a paddler’s endurance journey, I’d be looking at developing a good basic efficient stroke, but then build in other fitness training, such as swimming, running, cycling and rowing – ultimately to become the fittest they could possibly be in order to pick up any ‘holes’ in any paddle inefficiencies. Then of course there’s the strength and conditioning needs in order to create muscular and joint protection whilst undertaking such a journey of the repetitive nature such as endurance paddling – oh and did we mention nutrition… this endurance thing can become a big beast, so if anyone has questions, I’m happy to be contacted.
Hmmm – now this is a very interesting and possibly divisive question. What I can say is that although we’ve had a boom in SUP over the Covid19 years, I truly don’t believe that the numbers have stayed, maybe in recreational paddling yes, but in terms of racing, and in particular endurance racing, I feel the numbers have actually reduced – certainly here in the UK for sure. Of course, there are more events now than there ever have been before, and almost a choice of events every weekend of the year, but these are not necessarily of the high racing standard of EuroTour, ICF, ISA etc., as these days events generally now tend to include a ‘challenge’ type element, where the courses are perhaps easier, team challenge types, or there are no time limits like we have at The Paddle Skedaddle. Also endurance racing (at speed) is very hard…and I feel that it takes a very dedicated person to put aside the time to train for an endurance event in order to get the very best out of themselves at that specific, targeted event. I do fear that the competitive, call it ‘pointy-end’ of endurance SUP paddling may not have too much growth in the future – however, maybe by creating exciting courses in beautiful areas, more time-limits, working with coaches and specialists in order to get the best out of people who are serious about results – by creating races like The Paddle Skedaddle and using the phrases like the UK’s only ‘Endurance-Sprint’ – could, just possibly create a new love and opportunity for more faster endurance racing?
The Norfolk Broads is one of the UK’s newest National Parks, and with this comes more things for couples and families to do than they’ll ever have enough time in a week to explore! Not only is there the 260km’s of inland connected waterways to explore by SUP, kayak, boat our sailing yacht (all of which can be hired from local providers), but also it’s one of the most protected landscapes in Europe with some of the rarest nature and one of the most biodiverse areas in the whole of the UK. Not only are there the inland waterways to explore, but Norfolk is also surrounded by the beautiful Norfolk coastline, where there are over 200kms of beaches and ocean and coastal villages to discover. Furthermore, if water isn’t always your thing, then within 30 mins of The Paddle Skedaddle HQ, there is the beautiful city of Norwich – where a day exploring the old cobbled streets and museums could be a great alternative from the water. For more information on what can be found and what’s on offer in the local area, then the best place to visit is one of the very many tourism websites, but the best on to start with would be from Visit The Broads.
Photos by the courtesy of: Norforlk SUP Racing
22 Feb 2018
SUP racing has exploded, with new formats and races being announced each year, and out of this SUP endurance racing has emerged. UK SUP a non-profit organisation has seized this desire to race at longer distances, and has developed 3 events spread over the race season. Race suprimo and co-founder of UK SUP National Endurance Series Joanne Hamilton-Vale (along […]
