The Vaal River Canoe Marathon that was set to take place this weekend, has been rescheduled to January 2026. The two day K2 race event will now take place on January 31 and February 1.

If the Vaal River has taught us anything this season, it’s that she has personality, and apparantly a very busy social calender – from date changes to postponements. It’s been a rollercoaster of its own reality show for the organisers of this exciting annual event.

Opening of registrations for the 2026 Vaal River Canoe Marathon will be announced soon.

Drak Challenge cancelled

The organisers of the N3TC Drak Challenge have also taken the difficult decision to cancel the race for 2026. following the recent spread of Foot and Mouth disease through inland areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

The popular two-day canoeing race on the Umzimkhulu was set to take place at the end of January. However, due to a significant spike in Foot and Mouth cases, a unanimous decision was taken to cancel the race and two other events – the Euro Steel Drak Descent and the Euro Steel Run the Rivers, planned for the same weekend.

Each of the three events rely on access to private, commercial farmland. The events recognise and respect the need for farmers to implement biosecurity measures on each of their respective farms to protect their livestock accordingly, the organisers said.