Race ready for Fish River

GREG Smith from the South partnered up with Peter Chissano from Johannesburg Canoe Club (JCC) to finish the 66km fast-flowing VKB Liebensbergvlei river race as an excellent training preparation for the Hansa Fish River Marathon which takes place in October.

The river is fed by the Highlands Lesotho Water Project which releases melted snow through a tunnel into the ASH River near Clarens which flows into the Liebensbergvlei, through Bethlehem, to Frankfort and into the nearby Free State Dam.

The annual VKB Liebensbergvlei river race took place on the weekend September 18 and 19 from the Waterworks Dam at Reitz to the road bridge in Tweeling, a distance of 32kms with rolling wave trains and twists and corners as well as the Free State wind.

The second day comprised of a distance of 34km from Tweeling road bridge to Frankfort – excellent training and preparation of 66km as paddlers prepare for the A Grade mighty Hansa Fish River which takes place on the first weekend of October, in Cradock, Eastern Cape.

The pair finished the two-day event in a time of 4:22, their first river race together, with much enjoyment.

With the international ICF World marathon champs having being hosted in Pietermaritzburg, the previous week, a number of international paddlers and top South African paddlers made the trek to the small farming towns of Reitz and Tweeling to enjoy the fast-flowing, icy cold, clean unpolluted waters of the Liebensbergvlei.

The race was hosted by Dabulamanzi canoe club based at Emmarentia Dam.

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