Fourways pair conquers Vaal River Canoe Marathon

The two-day race started on the Vaal River and ended at Parys’ Hadeda Creek resort, with the pair finishing the gruelling marathon in 05:42:00.

With dry, drought conditions and low water levels, it was arguably the most difficult marathon for many years, as boats got stuck on the large flat shelf rocks of the river, forcing paddlers to get out of their boats on numerous occasions.

With 35km covered on the first day, the second day covered a distance of 26km, from Smilin’ Thru resort into Parys, where there were also a number of portages over the boulder-scattered low water section of the river. In Parys, the real fun began with white water rapids, which were more treacherous in the low water conditions.

The race has traditionally been a K2 (two-man) event which is suitable for the long flat river sections of the Vaal, however, it was the lighter boats with lightweight paddlers and the K1s that had the advantage in the low water conditions.

After the hard, tough slog on day one, 20 boats withdrew, either as a result of boat damage or paddlers suffering exhaustion from the tough conditions. The race provided excellent stamina development for those planning to take on the 2016 Dusi in KwaZulu-Natal, where the water levels are also likely to be very low.

Hall and Painting are members of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club based at Emmarentia Dam, and both have extensive experience in river racing, and being strong runners, they cruised comfortably through the difficult sections of the race which suited their ability and training.

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