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The Morgan's Crazy Canoe Marathon

Photo of Debbie Wright Debbie Wright
2 min

‘Welcome to the Morgans’ latest slightly crazy project! We’re going to be paddling 127 miles over six days in May in a fundraising canoe marathon down the Thames from Witney to Westminster.’

The biennial canoe challenge happens this year in 2019 – also the year both David and Jean Morgan celebrate significant birthdays. They don’t actually know whether they’re the oldest participants but think it’s pretty likely!

The venture is organised by AdventurePlus, a Christian outdoor adventure centre, who are also Partners in Action with A Rocha UK, the Christian conservation charity with whom David and Jean are long-term volunteers. Jean, who edits the A Rocha UK magazine, heard about the marathon on a team away day and rashly voiced her enthusiasm out loud! Their family bought them some personal trainer sessions for Christmas and a friend lent them a canoe, so they’ve been trying to get in shape for the six-day trip. The sponsorship they receive will raise funds for both AdventurePlus and A Rocha UK, and they'll be using Stewardship's fundraising platform, give.net, to do it.

The canoe marathon is not for the faint-hearted! A full-scale expedition involving a team of 40;127 miles covered over six days, paddling for about eight hours a day; 15 canoes; 18 canoeists doing the whole trip (and some 20 others doing sections of it); a back-up land crew with minibuses; accommodation booked along the way.

The Morgans say they’re feeling excited but slightly daunted by the challenge. ‘We’ve been training – but probably not as much as we should have. It’s a tandem Canadian canoe so we’re hoping 43 years of marriage will stand us in good stead! We think we’ll be OK on the first and second days – hopefully even enjoy ourselves – but getting up and doing the same again for four more days won’t be easy.’

Top of their concerns are getting cramp (David) and opportunities for loo stops (Jean)! At the start of the whole venture, they were also both worried about asking for money, having never done anything sponsored before. They needn’t have – the Morgans’ trip has captured the imagination of their friends and communities: their give.net page is regularly visited and they’re making progress to meet their target.

So what are they looking forward to? ‘The end! To the sense of achievement, to doing something out of our comfort zones and to helping a couple of causes close to our hearts.’

The canoe challenge starts on Saturday 11th May and will finish at Westminster Bridge on the evening of Thursday 16th.

Stewardship will be following their progress with regular updates during the week.

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Profile image of Debbie Wright
Written by

Debbie Wright

Debbie was a staff writer at Stewardship until 2022, having been responsible for creating online and offline content including Share Magazine, blogs, case studies, generosity and giving resources. Previously a Producer and Director for BBC Education and Science, she enjoys working on creative ideas to encourage people to live generous lives.

Debbie is a marmalade connoisseur and fair-weather birdwatcher and lives in London with her husband and youngest daughter of four girls. She is passionate about Local Church, Creation Care and Arts & Media, with a particular focus on supporting Christians working in the arts and media.