LITTLE WARRIOR GETS IRONMAN PADDLING

July 3:  The serious illness of a cousin's young son has inspired Gold Coast surf lifesaver Nathan Henderson to take on a gruelling one-man paddle from Byron Bay to Burleigh Heads.

Nathan, an ironman competitor for the Currumbin Vikings Surf Life Saving Club and a lifeguard for Gold Coast City Council, has tagged the challenge ‘A Paddle 4 Little Warriors' and is aiming to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation in Brisbane.

He will set out on the 70km marathon on Friday, July 17, and to make the arduous trip across open water even more challenging he'll be doing it using four different craft - the traditional paddle board, OC1 outrigger, surf ski and stand-up racing board.

The inspiration for the long-distance paddle is three-year-old Matarae Royal, the son of Nathan's cousin Jesse Royal, the New Zealand Warriors rugby league forward.

Matarae is battling Burkitts Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, and is undergoing a course of chemotherapy.

"It doesn't matter how hard it gets for me during the paddle, it is nothing compared to what Matarae is going through," Nathan said. "He doesn't really understand what's going on but we're a close family and I wanted to do something to show my support."

Nathan, who has previously competed in the 50km Molokai paddle board race in Hawaii, decided to use the four separate craft as an added challenge and to ensure he stays healthy for the entire journey.

"My aim is to change to a different craft about every 15 kilometres," he said. "Each craft is the fastest in its own category and each requires me to use different muscle groups which should stop me getting repetition injuries.

"I'm confident I'll be able to finish the paddle, I'm just not sure how long it will take."

Nathan's best estimate is a journey of about seven hours.

Nathan is aiming to raise at least $5000 for the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation.

Donations can be made at www.everydayhero.com.au/apaddle4littlewarriors.