Klip River race provides solid Dusi training

There are only two weeks left before the paddlers start converging on Pietermaritzburg for the Dusi – the world’s toughest canoe endurance race.

While the Dusi is a three-day, 120km long event, the Klip River race took place over two days on 25 and 26 January. It covered a distance of 34kms per day from the Buksies Resort in the south, to the confluence of the Vaal River, in Three Rivers. It also covered about 10km of portaging where paddlers had to climb out the river with high banks and haul their boats out, running with them for distances up to 5km at various stages. Belloord, a West Rand-based labour consultancy, sponsored superb prize money. Jeep vehicles and crews swarmed the river, along with portages who provided refreshments, transported broken boats, directed runners on the routes and supported the Dusi trainees.

Kevin Davie from Sandton partnered with Lynn Morris from Bryanston to take on the challenge as preparation for the Dusi event, finishing the gruelling race in 7 hours 26 minutes, as the fourth master age category crew, just missing a podium position.