AS the organisers of the 2021 MyLife Dusi Canoe Marathon take stock of another successful hosting of the country’s premier river marathon, paddlers taking the annual post-race survey have highlighted some important positives, in particular the progress being made in dealing with the water quality.
Given the unprecedented nature of hosting a race during a pandemic; the organisers where happy that the entry peaked at just over 780 paddlers for the iconic event between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, an increase on the entry year-on-year.
From a serious concern in 2019 when close on 80 per cent of the participants got sick with the infamous Dusi Guts, the 2021 race saw a continuation of the encouraging reversal of that trend seen in 2020 as over 71 per cent of the respondents completed the race without contracting any illness.
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The results of the survey showed that just under 20 per cent of the respondents said they contracted mild Dusi Guts while only five per cent suffered severe Dusi Guts. Dusi Guts is caused by a reaction to E.coli pollution in the river.
In the last two seasons the KwaZulu-Natal Canoe Club and the Dusi sponsors MyLife have been working with the Dusi uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT) to identify and remedy the sewer problems around Pietermaritzburg that were identified as the sources of the E.coli pollution in the uMsundusi River.
From a security perspective around 60 per cent of the survey respondents said that they felt safe throughout the race with security and safety personnel in the correct places.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
