Catching up with race organiser Peter.
Last minute changes before selling 'The Rush' K2
Paddling past Vaalower 10km into day 2After long discussions and decision making we finally decide to take part in the 55th running of the BSI Steel Vaal River Marathon this year. I partnered up with my fellow training partner and K2 sprint partner PW Basson for the two day river race. We were very fortunate to have Knysna Racing Kayaks send us up a NEW K2 'The Rush' to race in. It is arguably one of the best river K2's ever made. After only being launched last year it has taken the market by storm.
So with our equipment in order we made our way up to the Vaal where i have the most amazing family who are always willing to accommodate us. We couldn't have had a better venue to stay at, right on the river banks on a section of day 2. Dennis and Gisele hosted us like kings and made us feel very honoured to be staying there. They cooked some amazing food and ensured we had a good nights rest. The next morning we made our way to the start of day 1 just below the Vaal Dam. The hype was huge with almost all the top marathon paddlers out to compete for the 2011 title. Having never done this race before it was going to be quite challenging navigating my way down river. Having come off a sprint season we knew not to worry about being up there for the start of the race. From the word go we were in control and pulling the front bunch for the first few kilometers then settled onto diamond. Unfortunately we got squeezed back on the first portage allowing three boats to get away. We put down the hammer and some lucky decision making through some channels we managed to catch them again. We stayed together for just over an hour when another weir proved to be a problem with not knowing where to go we fell back and just lost touch of the front bunch. We worked hard trying to catch up but they worked even harder to keep us off. We were then caught by a chasing bunch of three and finished the day 1minute 50 behind the leaders in 5th place
Day two proved to be just too far for us as the cramps settled in early and fatigue started to hold us back. We pushed through it for some time until everything gave in. The guys around us raced a perfect race and did well to work us off. We held on to cross the line 6th place. Disappointed with not finishing in the top 5 but happy none the less as we hadn't had the time to put in some distance training.
