THE Gauteng’s marathon championship took place at Homestead Dam in Benoni on May 7 and 8 and was hosted by Ekurhuleni Kayak Club (ERK), in some windy, overcast and chilly conditions.
The South African marathon championships will take place on June 11 and 12 in the Western Cape this year. The GCU marathon championships provided trials which enabled the convenors to identify and selects for various age categories to represent Gauteng at the event. This will lead to selections for the International Canoe Marathon events scheduled for later in the year.
A number of paddlers are strong marathon paddlers, especially those who are running fit. They can easily make up time during the portages if they can get out of their boats quickly and run the short portage distance carrying their boats, for a smooth get-in.
Alex Masina who attends school in Forest Hill, and is a member of the Johannesburg Canoe Club at Wemmer Pan, won the u.18 junior age group race which consisted of 22.5 km, including six laps around the dam, and four portages running with the boat in between the laps, to secure his selection to represent Gauteng at the SA Marathon Championships in Cape Town in June.
He won the race in a time of 1:42, as the third place finisher overall and top junior.
