Paddlers are eagerly waiting to take on the 54th instalment of the Berg River Canoe Marathon, from July 14 to 18.<\/p>\n
With many obstacles and challenges, the 240km four-day ordeal is the longest distance canoe race in South Africa.<\/p>
Katiso Hlahatsi, from Victoria Lake Canoe Club (VLC), will be taking on the Berg challenge for the first time.<\/p>\n
The u-23 Hlahatsi has been paddling for years and has been training on long tough races with a group of dedicated paddlers from the local club, in preparation for the race.<\/p>
Recent river races, in Gauteng, have been geared towards helping paddlers to train for the Berg marathon.<\/p>\n
Among the preparatory races was the Johannesburg Country Club (JCC) 40km Klip River Race, in which Hlahatsi came home as the third u-23 finisher, in a time of three hours, 24 minutes, in 13th position overall, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Berg marathon\u2019s first day is an exhausting 62km challenge, starting at Paarl and paddling past Wellington, towards the Malmesbury area, before curving off to finish at Zonquasdrift, which is a five to six-hour hard paddle.<\/p>\n
Day two is over 45km and requires another three to four hours of exhaustive paddling, through the Palmiet Islands and channels, towards the Misverstand Dam to end at Bridgetown.<\/p>\n
Bushed after two long, hard working days in the cold wind and rainy conditions of the Western Cape, the paddlers are faced with a 75km third day, bypassing Piketberg, to finish at Zoutkloof, in the Hopefield area.<\/p>\n
Those who are strong enough have to do nearly another 60km on the fourth day, bypassing the Berg River Station, to finish at the Velddrif Bridge.<\/p>\n
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