Club supported sessions

There are a wide range of formal and informal sessions which take place out of Richmond Canoe Club during a normal week. While there may be quite a broad range of ability and speed there is a deeply entrenched shared goal of being the best we can be. Most members of the club will take part in racing during the year in a variety of disciplines. These include Sprint, Marathon, Descent racing and the ultra endurance event Devizes to Westminster. See the Racing menu for more details.

Training Sessions

Session Information

  • 10K time trial Wednesdays 6.30pm on the water (Summer): During the extended summer months there is a well attended 10K time trial usually run by one of the club coaches or paddlers. The course begins and ends outside the club and consists of 3 laps of 3.3K each. All members of the club who are competent paddlers are welcome to take part. There is an informal handicap system in place with the slower paddlers setting off first followed by the quicker ones. Times are recorded and currently published to the Richmond Facebook page. K1’s (singles), K2 (doubles) and C1’s (racing single blade canoes) regularly take part. 10k results can be found here
  • Circuit training Wednesdays 6.30pm in the gym (Winter): During the winter months when the 10K is not being run, the club facilitates a circuit training session in the gym. This is an excellent way to maintain fitness over the winter months as well as bringing together people who may not normally train together. From the first few easyish sessions the intensity and load builds as the months progress. Early on a short pre circuit run is added for those who wish to take part.
  • Saturday morning groups 8am-1pm all year round: Saturday mornings are the staple diet of Richmond paddlers when the majority of the club will be on the water. This will be in one of a number of group sessions which usually start between 8 and 10am on the water. These groups are split by speed, with groups for divisions 1-3, divisions 4-5 and divisions 5-6. For current session times please get in contact with the relevant coach.
  • Weights and gym: Richmond Canoe Club also has a very well equipped gym including a free weights section, Olympic weights sets and several pieces specifically targeting paddling physiology. We have a number of kayak and canoe ergo’s. Depending on the time of year there may be one or two group sessions run here particularly for juniors or beginners but generally the gym is free for club members to use. Please check the latest timetable to see when these sessions are.

Additional paddler led sessions

There are also a number of regular sessions which are less formally led. They aren’t set in stone as such but currently these include:

  • Week days at 6.00/ 6:15am on the water for paddlers who are close to Division 5 speed and above.
  • A Sunday morning session which is usually a long paddle.
  • Most evenings during the summer around 6.30pm paddlers will take part in an informal training session at a variety of levels.

These sessions aren’t generally organised by a club coach and so the best way to find out about them is to talk to fellow paddlers at your level. Some of the groups keep in touch using a small email list which you can request to be put on.