Umko Challenge: Victory for McGregor and Jacobs
One of the most noticeable features of this race was the large participation of junior paddlers. This showed that the effort of the event organisers, Kingfisher Canoe Club, to make the event more appealing to younger paddlers paid off.
THE 2023 STIHL Umko Canoe Marathon, held on a medium level river, over March 25 and 26, saw competitors compete in full rivers and dams.
The Umkomaas River was flowing at a mild 1.5m level (measured at Josephines Bridge) making the race a more technical paddling test.
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The combination of Hank McGregor and Wayne Jacobs took the overall win making it four victories in a row for the Euro Steel combination. Day one of the race, from Nyala Pans to Riverside, was 47km long. McGregor and Jacobs took an early lead following a hard effort through Charlie’s Rapid, leaving the chasers behind who had to work together to catch the leading pair.
The U23 TUKS combination of Sam Butcher and Matt Millward, pushed their experienced rivals all the way to the finish.
“10km after the start we were a minute clear, it’s a long day on your own and we didn’t want to make any mistakes so we played it cautious, keeping the rhythm, resulting in a lead of a couple minutes at the end,” said McGregor.
Day two was technically more challenging for paddlers as the river dropped over night to 1.35m.
“Hank drove like a star, we didn’t touch a single rock today, we had a clean race with no complaints. We did know that with any mistakes would result in Sam and Matt catching us, so we pushed hard on the flats and tried to take it easy through the rapids. The thrill of finishing this spectacular race is an achievement for all paddlers,” said Jacobs.
Event organiser Scott Rogers said they were thrileld with how many people travelled to the Umkomaas valley for the weekend.
“Our goal is to get as many people to experience the valley as possible whether it’s for paddling, running, rafting or cycling. Our efforts in adding the trail run, live music and rafting all added up to making it a festive family focused weekend. “We look forward to building on this momentum for next year’s event,” he said.
The inaugural trail run was won by the accomplished trail runner, Andrew Erasmus from Ballito.
“We had great feedback from all runners. It was great seeing many of them jumping into the clean river, after crossing the finishing line, to cool down. Nyala Pans Race Village has a unique offering where all events start and finish in the same place, reducing the logistical headache other races often bring. We have plans to extend the trail run to a two-day event exposing the runners to more areas of the Umko Valley,” said Rogers.
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STIHL and Super Bock have sponsored the event for numerous years.
“STIHL has proudly sponsored the Umko Challenge for over a decade – it is a partnership that we are glad to be a part of. We are thrilled that the changes to the format of the event attracted more people and a younger demographic in 2023,” said Nadine Green, Marketing Manager of STIHL South Africa.
Sherry Going of the Beverage Emporium added that the development of the weekend into a more family oriented occasion with trail running and other activities is a welcome advancement.
“We thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Umko Adventure Weekend this year,” she added.
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