Canoeists tough it out in training races
Canoeists take to the water to train for future races.
In the wake of the highly successful inter-provincial SA Marathon, held at Homestead Dam, in Benoni, recently, the Ekurhuleni Kayak Club, with support from the metro’s sports department, immediately launched the next event.
The club recently hosted a 21km training race, as well as a 31km Berg River Marathon training race.
These were aimed at assisting paddlers as they move into the race season, as well as preparing for the first major A-Grade river races of the year.
Roy Clegg, a member of Germiston Lake-based Victoria Lake Canoe Club, won the 31km Berg River Marathon training race, in a time of two hours and 26 minutes, in the first Veteran age group.
The overcast skies and chilly winds brought choppy water conditions, causing a number of paddlers to withdraw before finishing the long, tough marathon event.
Second place went to Mike Barry, from Benoni, who finished only a couple of seconds after the winner.
Emmarentia Dam’s Mark Shuter took third place, with Boksburg’s Malcolm Stothard in fourth.
Lynn Morris was the only woman to finish the 31km race, coming home in three hours, six minutes.
The winner of the 21km training race was Soweto’s u-23 Siseko Ntondini; he finished in one hour, 51 minutes.
Dabulamanzi Canoe Club’s Cornelis Human was in second place, only seconds behind, and Benoni’s top paddler, Michael Stewart, finished third, with his u-16 son, Liam, in a time of one hour, 55 minutes.
The Berg River Marathon, which first took place in 1962, is the longest race in South Africa and calls for competitors to cover 240km over four days.
The race stretches from Paarl, through the Cape Winelands, winding past scenic mountain beauty to the West Coast.
This race frequently takes place in the harshest Cape winter conditions, with rain, sleet, snow and freezing winds.
Local clubs throughout South Africa have stepped up to the plate to assist those few hardline canoeists who make the annual trek to the Western Cape in mid-winter, by providing training races like these to help toughen them up and train them.
