By David Partridge. Photos: Sari Wildsmith, Oliver Harding, Ainy RubioThe Devizes to Westminster (DW) is seen as the Everest of long-distance canoe races in the UK. The first DW was in 1948. Canoes and kayaks compete in the race nonstop or in Stages, racing the course over four days.In 2025, two SUP entrants proved that paddleboards could complete the course within the marshals time limits. Since SUPs travel at slower speeds than canoes, this was a significant milestone for the discipline. Patrick McCormack (leading Irish paddler) and Emily King finished the four-day course in 23 hrs 17 min and 28 hrs 11 min, respectively, both riding hardboards as required by the 2025 regulations. For SUP paddlers, these times underscore the endurance and pace required, especially since the fastest boats complete the distance in around 15 hours. The 2025 daily breakdowns are visible here: Devizes to Westminster Entries Thrudark Devizes to Westminster 2025In 2026, the event welcomed more SUP entrants. Emily returned to set a course record on a hardboard, while three others, including Africa Calzon Garcia, Sari Wildsmith, and me, opted for inflatablesmainly because of the 77 portages, which required easy board handling. Using inflatables, though typically slower, made it easier to manage the frequent carries that are unique to the SUP experience. All four of us finished, as the organisers tailored the event to support SUP participation and provided a reasonable 10-hr cutoff per long day (about 60km per day). This SUP-focused approach made it more accessible for paddleboarders.With those early experiences in mind, you might be wondering how the event works for SUP entrants and what key details to prepare for. Throughout my registration and planning, the organisers demonstrated outstanding support and encouragement from the moment I signed up.The Start and PrepThe Start is more formal than most SUP races. While canoes and kayaks must comply with specific safety checks, SUP paddlers also undergo mandatory kit inspection. This took place one hour before our 7 am start, requiring SUPs to be prepared with all gear ready by 6 am in Devizesoften in darkness. Bring a head torch to accommodate this early start.The kit list was detailed: spare clothing (a jacket), board lights, glow sticks (including one tied to your buoyancy aid), a waist leash, a foil blanket (I had to buy one on race morning), and water and energy gels. Pack as light as possible for the many portages, most of which are on the first day.In a massed start, you are timed on leaving, and start times are determined by progress on the course, with the slowest (us!!) going first each day. Our start was at 07:00, and we lined up, starting a few minutes apart.We all trained with long paddles, but given the timing of Easter, gym or cross-training was also helpful. I also practised portages on canals to get familiar with moving the board around locks, which was invaluable. A couple of 30km paddles before the race helped.I created a SUP-focused course crib sheet that marks which side to exit (red for left, green for right) and lists portage distances. This was vital for quick transitions. The organisers provide camping at each overnight stop, or you can use their hotel booking site for discounted accommodations near the routemaking it convenient for tired SUP paddlers.Day 1 Good FridayFrom Devizes, a long stretch of canal with no portages. Wayfinding is easy, and my crib sheet tracked bridges, key portages, and arrival targets. At portages, boards and kits are carried, but you can eat en route. My daily nutrition included salty snacks, cheese, energy bars, mini pork pies, and at least 3 litres of water.After the first lock, there are a further three or so, each less than a km apart, and then the Bruce Tunnel, which, at 750m, required a head torch. By this time, of course, the canoes and kayaks are catching up, but there is no overtaking rule in the tunnel. I was serenaded by a youth team singing at the top of their voices just behind me.After the tunnel, a long flight of locks at Crofton, sometimes its quicker just to carry the board further. Supporters, easily identified, cheered and passed on moral support or snacks at tough spots.The route is sheltered, so despite Storm Dave and gusts of 40 knots, we were hunkered down in a tree-lined gully, occasionally getting a push or sometimes an eddying side or headwind. A few swans made life interesting. There cannot be a worse sound than a fully grown swan, wings beating, feet paddling and splashing getting louder, dead behind you. I ended up bracing for potential engagements, but by avoiding nests, I avoided direct confrontation. All of us feared the swans!The day continues through Hungerford, Benham, with a total of 35 locks coming thick and fast every km or two until you start to see Newbury and the finish. There is little or no flow, but after the Bruce tunnel, all the portages are downhill. Despite what should have been a cross- or tailwind, we didnt realise any advantage because of the tree shelter.Day 2Easter Saturday arrived, and after another early start at 07:00, we quickly left Newbury behind, heading through Greenham.The scenery shifts from a rural, quiet canal to a wider canal, and soon youre paddling through a cityscape, passing shopping malls. The scenery shifts from rural canal to urban landscape, soon passing malls, coffee shops, and fast-food places as you approach Reading and the Thames. Onlookers here are mostly strangers, less engaged than supporters. (For a lock, but for fun!). This was at Dreadnought Reach, and it was an opportunity to visit the portaloos and take on fluids and food. The frequency of locks on the Thames reduces and they are more complex with weirs and uncertainty: Marsh Lock; Exit R then cross bridge left then put in below on R. I had been daunted by all the instructions and the detailed diagrams on the website: DW+portages+page+1-combined.pdf, but actually the navigation was easier than expected, and of course the growing army of supporters provided go this way, run that way advice!I think, in many ways, day 2 was my favourite: canal, river, countryside, town, small locks and portages, huge Thames locks, and a wonderful finish in Marlow.Day 3 Easter SundayIts suddenly dawning on all of us that we are going to do this! We had set up a group chat, and although we rarely paddled in sight of one another, we had encouraged one another and shared tips and topics each day. Mostly chat about man-eating swans. From Marlow, you head down the Thames to Henley, paddling through the town and along the classic boat race mile (and yes, it is windy!) The river is also wide and starting to become busier with Easter holidaymakers trying to speed past with maximum wake in their boxy cabin cruisers. Gentler, beautiful Edwardian wooden motor launches seem to offer a much more pleasant etiquette.I was blown off my board! A big gust caught me unawares just as two conflicting wakes peaked together in front of me. I was wearing leggings and a Lycra top when a gust and conflicting wakes knocked me off the board. Despite no wetsuit, I dried quickly. I may have swallowed river water, but recovered soon, recalling the advice to try flat Coke if needed. to be directing planes directly overhead, and there was a sense of getting closer as their altitude dropped. It is odd how, after three days on the water, you get attuned to quite esoteric markers of progress. It must be fantastic for the non-stop paddlers heading through here at night, watching the planes headlights marking the way.With only 15 Portages on day 3, we felt a bit shortchanged, though some were very long. It was also fun approaching rollers used to manhandle boats up and down the locks. We had to be careful walking around these, as they were very slippery and, with the wind, often acted like a huge sail, trying to crash into onlookers and supporters.Chertsey, Runnymede, Shepperton, Pharoe Island, Sunbury and eventually Teddington. The scenery was changing, becoming more urban, but still surprisingly green and verdant. The wind was also starting to haunt us. You are nearly there Indeed, we were, but the final push from Teddington, now on the tidal Thames toward Thames Young Mariners, our last stop, was in a hugely strong headwind. I am sure the board was going backwards despite a 10/10 effort at times. Finally, the finish line, cheering marshals, cheery supporters and a climb up a wet and greasy bank. The no-support rule ends with the finish signal, and I have never been so grateful to the wonderful volunteers who unclipped us and carried my board up to the top of the bank.Day 4 Easter Monday No more locks! Tidal Thames, so the organisers wait for high tide then launch u. Its a terrifyingly early start by 05:00, 300 crews are in their pens waiting for a final kit check. The Port of London Authority ensures safety, so lights, a yellow safety hat, head torches and spray decks are all rechecked by the friendly marshals.There is a long, cold wait pre-dawn. I had ice on my board! The delay, apparently in part because a canoe capsized and supporters fell in trying to aid it. The dangers of the Thames cannot be ignored, so the PFD, safety and other rules make sense. The dangers are amplified in the cold and dark. Eventually, you walk down a series of slipways into a pool area separated from the Thames by a gate. You wait and then, on the signal, paddle out into the Thames.We are welcomed at dawn by spectacular steam rising off the river. Emily has shot off riding the outgoing tide, ticking off bridges. I was worried about this section, tides, wind, traffic, but actually, the paddling was amazing, and we were blessed with calm winds and slowly increasing flow.Bridge after bridge, the sights of London, and soon Hammersmith and the Stages finish at Nine Elms Boat Club just above Putney Bridge.The final day is a sprint all over in under a couple of hours. As you come toward the finish markers, the noise and cheers grow louder and louder, and then suddenly you are on the steps up to the clubhouse, medal around your neck and being interviewed by the DW media team.How was it?Amazing, and it was, absolutely amazing. What a challenge, what a great event and what fantastic organisation.Would I recommend it for SUPs? Yes, absolutely, in reach of anyone who has paddled the Trent 100 or Race to the Castle or many other events. Some elite paddlers, I am sure, could take on the non-stop, and hopefully the organisers will consider this as an option in the future.Its a race, but for all of us, this was a challenge. The times are useful for anyone considering doing this: Devizes to Westminster Entries Thrudark DW 2026 Stages Race.Emily, of course, smashed it and set a new female record. I was happy to be the first ISUP to make it down the route, especially so, as my board was a secondhand bargain bought back in 2021 (a Sic 14 foot X 26), which has been down the Trent four times, crossed the Great Glen and made the Broads Ultra, so a real testament to sustainable paddling.Africa Calzon Garcia has summed up her experiences:Id like to share my gratitude and experience, the DW race is an amazing and unforgettable experience, 100% recommended!The organisers, volunteers, participants, and each crew team share a common goal: To finish the race. However, this race is an individual challenge, where you fight your own battles, like the solitude of hours paddling plus every day challenges, the 77 portages, the weather conditions, the aggressive swans, the lack of rest and excessive fatigue, but all of that makes you value the achievement even more, day after day.My first obstacle was finding someone for my land crew, being a foreigner with no family in the UK and Easter weekend!! Emily King advised me to ask for help in the paddleboarding community. The reaction and support I received were amazing. My Hero suddenly appeared, Ainy (Ainara Rubio), who offered to be with me for the entire race. This experience we shared will stay in my heart forever. Another great pillar in this race was Ewa, who made my entire diet and brought it to different locations. I will be forever grateful to these two people for their unconditional support, because without them, my crazy idea would have remained just a dream.I would also like to thank the two paddleboarding clubs that have supported me: Dittons Paddleboarding (DPS), including Brett, Clare, Tessa, and Richard, who were cheering me on and offering their support, and Frangipani, especially Anni Ridsdill Smith, who supported me through her social media. Thanks to Jane Yelloly, who lent me her head-torch and followed me on her bicycle along the river.It would be very difficult to name everyone who has supported me, but I would like to express my gratitude to all the volunteers, management and organisers who were there from the beginning to the end, helping and supporting me, as well as all the participants and teams who supported me with their cheers and jelly babies when I was crossing the locks.Africa Calzon Garcia was fundraising for The OLLIE Foundation) helping to prevent suicide in teenagersSari Wildsmith was a starShe found Day 1 in the wind really tough, but gritted her teeth and really dug deep to keep on paddling, Taking part in @dwcanoerace125 was one of the most memorable and special experiences.The support from everyone, from family and fellow competitors to the army of marshals keeping me well fed, to the paddle community cheering us all on, was incredible.It was a tough thing to completeAnd Emily:I am absolutely delighted to have completed the Devizes to Westminster Stages Race.It is such a tough event, with 125 miles over four days and 77 portages across the course, so just getting to the finish feels very special.My overall time was 24:36:16. Im incredibly grateful to have been part of it.A huge thank you to my three fellow paddlers for all the encouragement and inspiration throughout the race. It was brilliant to share the event with such amazing paddlers. And a massive thank you to the organisers and everyone involved behind the scenes. The amount of work, time, and effort it takes to put on an event like this is enormous, and it is so appreciated. Finally, thank you to everyone who supported, encouraged, and helped me along the way. It really meant a lot and kept me moving!Very happy, very tired, and very proud to have made it to the finish.The SupportSupporters are key to this race. You want to travel light with 77 portages, so carry only the mandatory water and gel. Refuelling is easy at the portages. Should your crew miss a stop, getting caught in traffic or failing to get a parking space, someone will give you a brownie or a Haribo. The race is as much a competition for the crews as it is for the paddlers, as you have to leapfrog down the course following your paddler on the excellent tracking website and intercepting them at chosen portages. The camaraderie between supporters was brilliant, with advice on routes, parking places and top tips. There is also a degree of competition with some of the school teams (I enjoyed the walkie-talkie Crew 1 coming in, they want Brownies and Paracetamol. Crew 2 not far behind, remember shes gluten intolerant).The hotel choices were great. You finish in the afternoon, check in, shower, prepare overnight oats, then find food and get an early night, ready for the early start. You can leave boards at the overnight stops and can camp there if you wish (its mandatory for the many junior crews racing canoes). During the afternoon and early evenings, you often bump into fellow DW travellers seeking an early dinner or stretching tired limbs. It was also fun meeting so many in the hotel lifts at 5 am.I am so grateful to Maria, who was a star throughout. Feeding me cereal at 5 am, water bottles at every stop, on schedule at the 16 designated portages we had chosen for fueling stops.The atmosphere at Nine Elms was wonderful, over four days, new friendships had been forged, all the supporters had a vital role in preserving the calm and maintaining the morale, and everyone of them just had this mantra of well done, great paddling. The officials, volunteers, and marshals were beyond brilliant.For the four SUPs, we also had the, You must be mad doing it on a SUP.We might be a bit mad, but definitely Happy Mad!Dont forget your light sticks and pack a survival bag. Its a medal you will cherish! You can get all the details and book in here: Race Info | Discover Race Details DW Race