Lots of white water
My husband attended a fund raising charity event early in the year and returned clutching a day out for two people at the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross. We had been white water rafting before, but never on a purpose built course.
By way of background, Lee Valley is a white water centre which was constructed to host the canoe slalom events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Our event was organised by Legacy 300 and, as well as the white water rafting experience, we were hosted by Joe Clarke who won gold in the slalom event at the Olympics in Rio in 2016.
Because the facility was purpose built everything is very well organised with plenty space and we were quickly kitted out with wetsuits, life jackets and helmets.
The first surprise for all of us was that we were required to do a swim test before being allowed on the raft. This involved jumping into the water lying on our backs, floating along the course and then, when instructed, swimming to the side. Bizarrely, although I am a confident swimmer, I was a bit nervous about doing this.
However, it was fine and we were soon in our raft getting instructions from Sean who was guiding us on what we needed to do.
This course follows a circular loop and each time we went round it we experienced a bit more of the thrill. We were on the water for about an hour and a half and I think it is fair to say it is a really exhilarating experience. Miraculously we all managed to stay in the raft though we were submerged on many occasions. It is quite a physical experience and each of us commented on how tired we felt at the end. Because you are so focussed, it is impossible to think of anything else and, as such, it is a fantastic way to switch off from all the worries of the world.
Towards the end, we all left our paddles on the raft, jumped into the water and floated along on our backs. This was a beautiful and calm experience, something I hadn’t expected to do, and something I thoroughly enjoyed.
We spent some time afterwards chatting with Joe and learning more about his training regimen and his journey to Gold in Rio.
I came away so impressed at the dedication and determination that our elite athletes have and, although they train so hard and commit so much, it doesn’t provide them with a lavish lifestyle, as it does for footballers and golfers, even when they are at the top of their game.
Joe was a really interesting and quite humble person to talk to, and it really rounded off our experience.We got lots of good action shots, needless to say, and went home feeling suitably satisfied with a day well spent.