Introduction To Kayaking

Most people come to adventure racing from some other sport, whether it be running, swimming, triathlon, mountain-biking or some other endurance sport. The key concern to most people who consider having a go at adventure racing is the kayaking part. Kayaking is sometimes seen as inaccessible, technical, expensive and something that would take too long to "learn". Well we hope to be able to convince you that all of that is pure bunkum.

Firstly, kayak and surf clubs exist all over New Zealand. They're cheap to join, you can generally use club boats rather than investing in your own (if you don't want to own one initially), and you'll find that they'll welcome beginners with open arms and provide plenty of guidance and tuition for beginners. For a full list of clubs in New Zealand, and details of entry fees, contact details etc, please refer to your nearest club listed here click here.

As for accessibility, well pretty much wherever you go in New Zealand there are plenty of awesome rivers, lakes and of course coastline. Most clubs will also have group outings where as beginners you can paddle amongst the safety of others.

If you're still not convinced, have a read of this brief story from Di Astwood, a runner who took the plunge into adventure racing.

If after all this you're still not convinced, you can seek a paddler to join your team by placing a message on the Athlete Finder, just click here.

We have also included some suggested exercises for getting strength in all the right places for paddling. These can be found both in our articles section and the Kayaking Advice section by clicking here.