DUE to a clash of commitments for several members, it was only a small team from Fladbury Paddle Club that travelled to Gailey near Cannock for the first mara-thon canoe race of the season.

In the Division Seven race, the club was represented by Gareth Hunt and Tracy Dre-sch. Racing over a distance of four miles, the former made a strong start in his C1 canoe and led for the first mile.

However, the choppy conditions made it difficult to maintain the lead and the group including his clubmate caught and passed him after the turn.

After that the positions stayed much the same with Dresch and Hunt finishing just outside the medals in fourth and fifth places respectively.

In the Division Nine Dou-bles, Ed Poulter and Alex Dresch raced together for the first time but this didn't appear to hinder them when, after a steady start, they were able to make their way through the field and claim a fantastic third place.