Gearing up for the daunting Dusi
Gauteng paddlers streamed to the Dusi valley on the weekend of December 6 and 7, to prepare for the Dusi Canoe Marathon with the 50 Miler Lettie Pants race which consisted of two days of padding.
The race offered a superb preparation for the challenging endurance event scheduled for mid February.
The 80km river was tougher than usual with low rainfall during the past year.
Paddlers were forced to carry boats out of the river and run (or walk) up steep hills and down slippery slopes as parts of the river were not suitably negotiable due to low water levels, with little water from the local dams which were not full enough to enable releases.
This made for an excellent training and preparation weekend for the endurance challenge of the Dusi river race which maintains its 1964 tradition of such portages in line with the first races hosted on the river, before the advent of dams.
Jarryd Breeds was the first finisher from the Homestead Dam-based Ekurhuleni Kayak Club (ERK) as the 68th K1 (single), while Michael and son Liam Stewart were the third K2 finishers.
Richard Tandy finished as the 125th K1 and Vallon Kupferberg, Benoni resident, finished the race in five hours and nine minutes as the 141st K1.
