Dusi stalwart aims for 50th race
The 70-year-old paddler aims to complete the race with his son, Billy.
THE canoeing community will come to a standstill to pay tribute to the humble 70-year-old stalwart of the MyLife Dusi Canoe Marathon, Lyle Wheeler, as he is set to become the first person to finish the tough three-day race 50 times.
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Wheeler has been a popular and unassuming part of the paddling community since his first Dusi in 1971.
“It is not about me,” he insisted. “There are many other heroes of the Dusi and I am just a tiny part of that story. The race simply wouldn’t be what it is today without the men and women who have organised it over the years, and the families and seconders, who, for me, are the unsung heroes of the Dusi,” said the sprightly farmer.
His passage down the uMsundusi and uMgeni rivers over five decades has allowed him to share many remarkable stories and has had the opportunity to know many of the sport’s trailblazers.
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Affectionately known as ‘Mkhulu’, Wheeler holds court with many groups of eager young Dusi racers and they hang onto his every word when he talks about the race and how it has evolved.
He started his first Dusi in 1971, when the race attracted a few dozen hardened competitors.
“We didn’t know where to go. There were no roads or paths, just cattle tracks through the bush. The river was really low and we walked and ran so much of the way. I was wearing hockey boots and the pain in my feet was just incredible. We tried stuffing foam into our boots to stop the sand getting in because we were walking over so many sandbanks, but it didn’t help,” he recalled.
When he did finally reach Blue Lagoon at the end of his first Dusi, he made straight for the nearby beach.
“In those days, the race finished much closer to the sea than it does now. My feet were so sore and I had lost my toenails, so I just dived straight into the sea to try and get rid of the pain!
“I thought long and hard about it and I want to share what will be a very special occasion for me with my son, Billy, who I have done a number of races with,” he said.
Billy Wheeler is deaf and it has taken some adjustments and adaptions to get the K2 crew to be able to paddle as the well-drilled team they are now.
“I love the fact that people recognise us together and give Billy the credit he deserves for paddling the Dusi,” said Wheeler.
The 2021 MyLife Dusi Canoe Marathon will be held from 18 to 20 February 2021. To enter online.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
