The River Medway became the venue for a marathon kayak race as over 150 racers took to the water in their brightly coloured racing kayaks and canoes.

The Tonbridge Hasler marathon race took place last Sunday, August 31 and Tonbridge paddlers turned out in force scoring 230 to win the overall event.

Races took place in nine divisions over distances of four, eight or 12 miles and paddlers had to navigate their way through narrow twists and turns near Tonbridge Sportsground.

The Tonbridge paddlers reclaimed the Zeneca Trophy from visitng club Richmond who scored 225 points putting them in second place.

Tonbridge’s Junior team shot up the divisions this year, with Joe Caisley taking second place in division 4 getting promoted up to division 3, Jared Humphries winning first place in division 5 promoted to division 4 and Jonny Neale taking first place in division 8 promoted to division 7.

Gregory Neale won first place in the under 12’s as did Luca Bucknall in the under 10 male race. The under 10’s female race was won by Isobel Ford, with her sister Amy taking second place.

Tonbridge Canoe Club’s adults performed well with Lenny Clark winning first place in division 3 and Peter Ford taking third. Greg Aldridge won second place in division 6 and Nigel Abel took third place in division 8.

Points are awarded in these regional Hasler races throughout the racing season and the highest ranking clubs in each region will compete in the Hasler Finals for the coveted Hasler Trophy later this year.