Who are these plebs and why are they paddling?

Who we are:

Pleb #1: Tracey

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Tracey a young physio working for a pumping practice in the booming metropolis of Pietermaritzburg (PMB).

I was born and bred in the fairest Cape; I completed my physio degree at the University of Stellenbosh in 2011 and trekked to a small rural village in northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to complete my year of community service in 2012. After spending a rather interesting year in the bush (you can read all about that adventure on my other blog) I managed to find a job at EAP Active in PMB and have been based there since January 2013.

Other Interests: Road running, music, snorkelling, scuba diving, surfing

Paddling since: August 2013

Pleb #1: Tracey

Pleb #2: Chandelle

Chandelle is my colleague. She is a young, strong and ambitious physio who was born and raised in PMB she graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2007 and has been working at EAP since 2009.

Other interests: Fitness, trail running, judo, baking

Paddling since: August 2013

Pleb #2: Chandelle

How we got here:

Moving provinces has not only brought a change in location, but also a change in lifestyle. PMB is a small sporty town in KZN that’s known for sporting events such as the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the Comrades Marathon. Since EAP Active is based in PMB we treat many injuries that arise from a wide variety of sports.

Since I started at EAP I have seen many patients with canoeing injuries. At the start of 2013 I was unfamiliar with canoeing as the sport is not that common in the Cape, for this reason I couldn’t understand how/why these people continuously injured themselves. If someone told me they “paddled” I pictured a person on a long slender boat taking graceful strokes on still, calm almost transparent lake-little did I know 8 months down the line I would bust that myth!

2 Months ago my confusion and curiosity lead me to pick up a paddle for the first time in my life in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the sport. After a few more casual paddles and some encouragement and conversation between colleagues and clients Chandelle proposed the idea that the 2 of us find partners and do the Dusi Canoe Marathon for charity.

How it’s going:

It’s going :) Between our busy work schedules and other commitments we’ve been paddling regularly. We are yet to confirm a charity and partners-please feel free to drop a line if you have any suggestion. Since agreeing to do Dusi we have completed 1 novice race (it was my second time in a boat), most mornings we find ourselves at Camps Drift at 5am to do some laps and we’ve have had a few paddling lessons with the legendary Craig Mustard.

What exactly is the Dusi Canoe Marathon?

It's  a 3 day canoe race along the Msunduzi River (aka the Dusi river). Over the 3 days you cover a total of 120km; a small portion of which is covered by portaging (portaging is when you carry a boat from one point to another). Yes...us plebs are attempting to cover 120km on our arms!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11204701/?claim=rseuj94v5uw">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>