Ward patiently awaits Kiszli’s arrival

JENNA Ward has had to mix and match her K2 partners recently while she awaits the arrival of her FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon partner, Hungarian marathon ace Vanda Kiszli ahead of the 2018 event from 15-17 February.

Ward’s build up to the three-day race has been solid, however she and Kiszli will only be able to get into a boat together after 2 February when the current women’s marathon K1 silver medallist arrives in the country.

Paddling together in a K2 will not be foreign for the pair who paddled themselves to fourth overall at the 2016 Dusi.

“Vanda is only arriving at the beginning of February because she has a number of other paddling and training commitments in Hungary. She has also paddled the Dusi before so she knows what to expect which means I am not worried that we won’t have that much time together in the boat beforehand. It is important that we spend as much time as possible getting used to having the boat on our shoulders again.”

Ward has been working hard on her running in the build up to the Dusi and in the past, she would be the first to admit, the running part of the race was always the element that she was least prepared for.

“I have had a new running programme that I have been following and I don’t think that I have been this dedicated in my training for the Dusi before. My December training was very good and I am feeling great.”