Training for the tough Dusi
Howard from Kempton recently returned from the World Marathon Master Championships in Oklahoma
WITH the 65th Dusi river race scheduled for mid-February 2015, paddlers are using the fuller rivers after rains to do some serious training for the world’s largest canoe marathon endurance event from Pietmaritzburg to Durban.
The inaugural winner of the race, Dr Ian player, recently passed away at age 87. Player was one of the first adventurers to scout and complete this section of river, winning the race in 1964 in hand made, home made boats fashioned from wood and canvas.
With no dams or water releases in those days, and the easily damaged heavy boats, the paddlers had to carry them around many rapids, hence the endurance reputation.
Despite the fact that the current Dusi is still a serious endurance event where paddlers do have to carry their boats around specified rapids in Dusi tradition, there is nevertheless much more water available from dam water releases making the river race much more fun.
The Gauteng paddlers enjoyed the fuller Klip river on November 30 in a 34km race hosted by Florida Lake Canoe Club in Meyerton, which included a 2.5km section where they practised their portage training carrying their boats along a dirt road next to the river.
Gauteng Canoe Union is proud of its integration programmes which have proven tremendously successful, and the proof of the pudding is that the top seven paddlers were young black athletes who dominated the race, taking top three positions, top U/23 podium, and also the top U/18 and U/16 junior podium positions.
Michael Howard, who farms a small holding in Kempton Park, is still consistently paddling the toughest, longest and hardest canoe races with more than 20 years experience and is in peak condition.
He recently returned from the World Marathon Master Championships in Oklahoma. Howard partnered with Franz Fischer, equally experienced and a resident in Killarney, to finish the gruelling race in 3 hours 45 minutes as the only Great Grand Master age category in the race (70 years of age). Fischer is an active environmentalist and spends hours working to keep the river free of pollution, as well as fallen trees and debris traps.
They are both members of Johannesburg Canoe Club in Wemmer Pan.
