Oldest entrant set for Dusi duel

THIS year’s Dusi Canoe Marathon which gets underway at Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday 13 February will be a particularly memorable one for 78-year-old Lionel Benham, who is 63 years older than the races youngest competitor, 15-year-old Epworth schoolgirl Stacy Green.

For Johannesburg’s Benham, a self-proclaimed big water fan, it is far from the pure racing that attracts him back year after year but rather the adventure, the journey and the vibe of the event.

“I have been doing the Dusi since the 1980s and it’s the camaraderie and the pilgrimage that is so unique to the Dusi that I absolutely love. I prefer the bigger waters of the Umko than the paddle/run nature of Dusi. I hate running, especially uphill, with the boat, but the whole Dusi atmosphere is just incredible and something I will never be able to resist,” he added fondly.

“I have taken part in a couple of races around the world, including the Avon Descent in Australia which the Aussies call the ‘toughest white water race in the world’. It hasn’t got anything of even just the first day of Dusi!

Benham’s Dusi experience started many years ago with his then fifteen year old son and, after some time of not paddling together, the pair’s Dusi adventure will be ignited once more in 2014. “I first experienced the Dusi when my son, Bradley, was fifteen years old. He’s now 43 so we’ve been involved for quite a while!” he chuckled.

Despite his years of Dusi experience, the passionate, old school Dusi regular is adamant ‘oldest’ is a description used scarcely in his company despite having made the title his own on numerous occasions previously.

“I need to have a word with (race time-keeper and long-time paddling administrator) John Oliver!” said Benham sternly. “None of this ‘oldest’ nonsense! I didn’t paddle last year but for the three years before then I was told I was the oldest participant and even back then I tried telling John (Oliver) that I’m wasn’t the oldest but rather the most senior!”

On the opposite end of the spectrum young Stacy Green is set to become the youngest participate in 2014 as she and the man behind the incredible production line of paddling talent that continues to stream out of Epworth College, Les Willows, look to take up this year’s challenge.

The Dusi Canoe Marathon 2014 starts in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday 13 February and ends in Durban on Saturday 15 February 2014.