Completing the Avon Descent was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have done quite a few crazy things in my time but I think that paddling 134 kilometres over two days probably takes the cake!

My preparation for the race was rather rushed ­ I started doing some flatwater paddling as rehab for a shoulder injury. After a couple of weeks I decided I'd work a lot harder at it if I had a goal and what better than doing the Avon! Two short months later I was driving up to Northam one Friday afternoon in a state of disbelief. It didn't fully register what I was doing until I crossed the finish line a couple of days later.

On the Saturday I got up to a rather cold morning. (My hand froze to my paddle whilst writing my name and address on it.) We got to the start with about thirty minutes to spare after a slight detour back to the camp school where we were staying to retrieve my race bib ­ a useful item if you don't want to be disqualified ­ to find that the fog had delayed the start by half an hour. Time to hurry up and wait.

After starting just past nine, Day One was pretty uneventful. The first few hours were spent being overtaken by all the skis that started behind the kayaks but after that everyone was pretty much at the same speed. Katrine Bridge came up a lot faster than I expected but the run from West Toodyay to the start of the ti-trees seemed to drag out a fair bit. The trees themselves were a bit clogged up with paddlers ­ the water level was just low enough to expose some of the larger sandbars that were submerged during the practice runs. I reached the end of the first day at about three and started to eat again. Everyone else from our club was doing pretty well but we were a bit disappointed that there was no massage tent this year.

The second day dawned cold and foggy and several hours after I got up. We missed the turn off to the start due to the heavy fog and I just got onto the water in time. I found out later that the official temperature in Northam was ­0.2, and that was out of the fog!

The trees near the start were very congested and everyone felt the cold a bit while waiting for blockages to become unstuck. Overall, the attitude of the people was pretty good but there was one person in a DR boat that was barging through the queues.

I emerged from the trees unscathed only to come out at Super Chute, but I suppose someone's got to keep the crowd happy! Having only done one valley run made some of the rapids interesting but I got through the rest well enough. This was despite taking the left chute at the bottom of Emu's and going OVER the central rock at Moondyne. (I think a plastic boat was a good idea.)

After reaching my first stop of the day at Upper Swan to find my support crew not there, the next fifteen kilometres wasn't what I call 'fun'. It was quite a relief to see them at Middle Swan, however, and the Coke and Mars Bar they gave me really helped my sprint to the end. I got in around 3 pm again and suddenly realised how bad I felt. Nothing specific, apart from the blisters, but just that general tiredness and soreness that you'd expect.

Overall, the race was excellent. It was really well organised and ran smoothly, despite the delay on the first day. Personally, I would like to thank all of the people (especially the volunteers) and sponsors who made the race possible. As well as that, thanks to all of the spectators who watched and and the competitors who took part.

Lastly, a special thanks to those from the UWA Outdoor Club who helped me with my preparation and during the race as well. I'll be back!