Dusi 2010… 2nd…

Day 1:
We were treated to nice, cool weather for the day spent with the most time out of the river portaging. The A-Batch is comprised of 3 rows of 20 boats, Banji and I were #14 in the front row. As the cannon fired we did not have the best starts but managed to work our way back up the side to slide down the Ernie Pierce weir in 4th place. We first stuck our nose into the lead at Mussons rapid about 6km into the 1st day. Soon after Taxi rapid there were 3 boats slightly ahead up until the sewerage farm hop portage. At the put-in at sewerage farm Graham/Birkette paddled straight across the river to run the long Campbell’s portage. Banji and I opted for the extra 1km of paddling down to the Pine tree take-out.

Our first and probably most disastrous slip came when we needed to pick up our most important juice at Campbell’s farm. This was the juice that would carry us through the next 1hr40min and toughest part of the race. Once my bottle was filled we noticed that Banji’s juice was nowhere in sight… We had no option but to push on… When the two paths converged we had slipped to 50sec behind Graham/Birkette. At the top of 2nd Guneafowl we had closed them down to about 30sec. By now Banji had used up all of his reserves and was beginning to suffer. The gap that we would normally so easily close on the water began to stretch slightly.

At Maize rapid with about 1hr to go I side swiped the rudder on a boulder and badly damaged the mechanism. At Finger neck portage Banji finally got the juice that he had so desperately needed and I immediately felt his power returning. After dropping to about 1min30sec behind we closed back to about 30sec at the top of the Cabbage tree portage. When we put back in the water we were back on their tail only to realize that our rudder was not working allowing them to pull away once more. Over the final 15min of paddling our rudder was not playing the game and we crossed the line 1min13sec behind Graham/Birkette. Ngidi/Zondi came in in a very impressive 3rd for the day.

Day 2:
Our elapsed time start was at 06:01:13am and we got right into a good rhythm in order to close the 1min13sec as quickly as possible. About 6km in at the saddles portage we had already made up nearly 30sec and were 44sec off the pace. At the confluence and with good water coming in from the Umgeni I could notice the gap closing fast. We took a different and much faster line to them at the washing machine and it put us right back onto their tail! Graham/Birkette however did not seem phased that we had caught them so quickly and continued to set the pace all the way through to the Ngumeni portage take-out. Our goal was to get into the path first and try to put some hurt into them up the big hill. The short, sharp dash for the path resulted in my tripping on my splash cover and allowing them to set the pace up the hill… It was extremely frustrating being stuck behind them up the path when we were so ready to give it our all on this portage. About 3/4 of the way up they took a different path and we surged hard on our path to rejoin slightly ahead of them. We ran full taps down to the put-in together and again they opted to set the pace on the river. The river was now flowing at a very exciting level making the big three rapids of Gumtree, Thombi and Hippo a lot more risky. At Hippo they chose the main channel while we opted for the safer slide over the rock on the right but their was nothing in it.

At the headwaters of the dam with about 1hr of flat water paddling remaining we decided to pick up the intensity by quite a few notches. Across the dam we put in some very hard pulls both long and short even mixed up with a few intervals but were unable to shake them.

We crossed the line as the new leaders but slightly disappointed that we did not have clear water between them and ourselves… I knew that their running was strong but now the strength of their paddling had really surprised me… I was very impressed by them to say the least. Theron/Cruikshank pulled up into 3rd place with Ngidi/Zondi doing really well to still be hanging onto their tail. Day 3 was now bound to be both interesting and exciting!

Day 3:

Off again in elapsed time but this time at 06:00:00am, both lead boats neck and neck. The 20min paddle across the dam was not the fastest, both crews deciding to conserve energy for a heated battle later on in the stage. The run down the dam wall felt like a flat out sprint but at the put in above Tops needle rapid both boats were still together. I must be honest I never thought that they would also choose to take on Tops from the top and was hoping that this would be our chance to get away. Yet again they proved me wrong and took the bull buy the horns setting a cracking pace all the way to the Burma road take-out. Once again there was a flat out sprint for the entrance for the path which once more they managed to have their boats nose ever so slightly ahead of ours to maintain the advantage. So for the 2nd time we were stuck behind them when Banji and I were both so desperate to open a lead over them on the 17 or so minute climb to the top. Frustrated by not being able to set our own pace we tried a few times to come past them, but to do this we would always have to come off the path and try to sprint past through longer grass or the bushes. Every time we would almost have our nose ahead to cut back onto the path in front of them they would just manage to lift their pace up enough on their nice open path to hold us off.

We knew that the Burma portage was the perfect place to shake them off but they had been able to block our every move… Just 300m before the top they took a different path and we took our chance to put the hammer down. As we crested we had opened up close to 30sec over them and decided to keep going for it. Banji took hold of the boats drag rope and pulled the boat down the other side at a cracking pace, at times leaving me lagging behind. By the put-in the gap over Graham/Birkette had opened to about a minute and a half and I was pretty sure that we had the race in the bag.

Pump House Weir

The weir and rapid that had been a compulsory portage for the past 3yrs as a result of the construction of a highway bridge was up next. Five days before the race the race we had been given  the all clear to shoot through this section. They had removed all of the building rubble and steel from the rapid and declared it safe for passage. As soon as I got the message I drove up to take a look at the new rapid. With no water released until race day to test it out I spent over an hour there studying the rocks and trying to imagine the flow of the water come race day. In my head I chose the safest line but decided that I would only take on this rapid if it meant winning or losing the race. The risks of shooting through a rapid I had never practiced before was just too high.

I approached the weir with caution and made it through safely, now it was time to take on the rapid.  At the top I took my time and tried to scout out the best line before entering the rapid. We came in down the left and all looked good. From my study of the rocks the few days before I thought the worst was behind me. I was wrong… As we started to cut across to the right of the rapid for the bottom half we hit a massive stopper wave, followed by another and then another. It did not take long before we were over and swimming. A horrible swim where the river took us to the very right hand bank and then all the way across to the left up against  the cliffs. I managed to get a small hold on the cliffs and just enough space to pull the boat up and empty it. It was at this moment that I saw Graham/Bikette taking on the rapid. Banji had been washed further down stream so I climbed into the boat alone as the other crew came past us… Our hearts sank as the minute and a half lead that we had bled so hard for was now a 40sec deficit.

In hindsight would I have taken on the rapid if I could to do it all over again? Yes I would have. We would have lost about 2min if we had portaged the rapid, and them having nothing to lose would’ve definitely shot the rapid and ended up from being 1min30sec behind to 30sec ahead of us.

We chased hard closing the gap slightly, but was it wasn’t fast enough. With half an hour to go the gap was now remaining constant but we refused to give up and gave it our all. Graham/Birkette now had a sniff of victory and the adrenalin of being in the lead carrying them along. Eventually the wheels fell off and our boat speed began to drop… we had been beaten. That last 20min was the hardest of any of my Dusi’s as all of the energy drained right out of our muscles…

Graham and Birkette crossed the line 1st as the 2010 Hansa Powerade Dusi champions. They raced a floor less race and were meticulous in their preparation, a tough crew to beat. Birkette at 19 heading up the new generation of Dusi champions. Graham at 31 finally getting that coveted win that for so many years he had worked so hard towards. The disappointment of not achieving something that we had put so much time and effort into making it so tough to swallow, but the smiles on their faces and the appreciation of the victory making it somewhat easier for me to accept.
Ngidi and Zondi putting in a phenomenal effort to claim the 3rd place on the podium. Their elation just overflowing onto all of us making it difficult not to feel happy!

PRESS RELEASES:
Day 3:
Dice to the finish decides Dusi title
Teacher’s Dusi lesson
Birkett and Graham are Dusi Kings

All4Data – Birkett and Graham take Dusi Canoe Marathon

Birkett, Graham win the Dusi – Times LIVE

Day 2:
Catch me if you can!
Dusi double duo share lead
Cape Argus: Stott and Mbanjwa edge ahead in dramatic Dusi duel
Ant and Mike power back (Front Page News) – Newspeg

Day 1:

Early twist in Dusi tale: Sport: OtherSport The Citizen Surprise leaders at Dusi

Pre-race press:

All systems go for 59th Dusi: Sport: OtherSport No late Dusi surprises Duo ready to do Dusi

Ready to Race

With two nights to go until the start of this years Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon the nerves are beginning to tingle a little! The start cannon will be fired at 6am on Thursday morning when the first batch of 60 K2’s will be released down the river.
At this stage there is still no entry from Len Jenkins and Hank MacGregor but I have a very strong feeling that they will sneak an entry in before tomorrow evening. If Len and Hank do enter they will definitely be the boat to watch. Both are previous Dusi winners, extremely strong paddlers and also come from very successful running backgrounds. 
Other boats to keep an eye out for will be Jacq Theron and Piers Cruikshank who are flying on the water and won’t be to shabby on the portages either. The dark hose combination of Jason Graham and Andrew Birkette have kept a low profile after their 2nd place finish in 50-Miler. With running being their strong point a 2nd place finish in a pure paddling race makes them serious contenders for the title. Thomas Ngidi and Eric Zondi are definitely the strongest running crew in the race and it will be no surprise if they cross the line first after the first day of racing. Craig Turton has a few Dusi top ten finishes to his name and has tamed up with the talented Miles Razmussen. Their amazing running ability combined with their new found speed on the water must surely throw them in the mix for a top 3 finish. Other crews to watch out for are Johannesburg’s Alex Robberts and Gavin Payne, Durban’s Wayne Wilson and Paul Rabinowitz, as well as Shaun and Ben Biggs. The UK has avery strong boat entered this year which will be driven by Owen Peake. Peake has spent the last 3 months training and racing in South Africa and together with his current partner won the notorious, non-stop 200km DW in April last year.
Banji and I have had a nice little taper and are chomping at the bit and ready to race!

Sunday Times article.
Dusi Race website.

Dusi- only 5 more days to start.

With the last few days ticking by before the start of this years Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon there has still been virtually no rain… Normally by this time of the year most of the competitors have spent hours on the river being able to familiarizing themselves with the many rapids along the course. This year however there has been virtually no water in  the river since early December leaving only the desperate paddlers to spend time in  the valley bashing their way over rocks.
This will not be a problem come race day as all the dams on the river system are full which will hopefully guarantee generous water releases from Umgeni Water for all three days of racing.

Dusi website.
Pre Dusi press.

Inanda Dam to Durban Race- 1st place!

On Sunday morning we raced in the final one of the Dusi warm-up races. The race was held over the exact Dusi day 3 course. Starting on Inanda dam and then winding down through the Umgeni valley all the way to Blue Lagoon.

Virtually all of the serious Dusi contenders crowded onto the start line ahead of the 20min flat water paddle to the dam wall portage. There were about 7 boats in the lead group before being strung out slightly on the run down the dam wall.
Wayne Wilson and Paul Rabinovits climbed into the river 1st followed by myself and Banji and about 4 other boats. About 200m downstream a bad choice of line lead to an early swim for Bnaji and I allowing 4 or 5 more boats to sneak past us! We had a fairly quick recovery and were able to catch the leaders after about 15min. With the Umgeni running at a tricky 15 cumecs choosing the correct lines was vital.
Wilson and Rabinovits badly damaged the nose of their boat at Side chute rapid forcing them to stop for repairs and thus allowing us into the lead. By this stage Theron and Cruikshank were in 2nd with Shaun and Ben Biggs in 3rd.

By the finish at Blue Lagoon Banji and I in a time of 2hrs 32min had opened a lead of about 4 min over the now 2nd placed Biggs’s. Theron and Cruikshank took the 3rd spot.

In the press.

On track for Dusi

Over these past few weeks mine and Banji’s training has been as close to perfect as it could’ve been. We have put in some very big sessions over the Christmas period are about as fit as we could be leading up to this years race. Apart from the odd little niggle we have both managed to avoid any serious injury or illness allowing us to push our body’s to the max when required for training sessions.
Our new K2 Reagle from Popes Canoe Centre is looking great and we can’t wait to jump in the boat and race come January 21st.
With just over 2 weeks to go all that is left is a bit of fine tuning and maintenance. There has not been too much rain inland so the Dusi River has been a bit low meaning not too much tripping on the course. Hopefully we will get one or two big storms before the race so that we can spend some time in the valley.

Click here to see the DUSI 2010 website

4 Races, 4 wins in a row!

After a satisfying win in the 50-Miler just over a week ago Banji and I were able to follow it up with another great weekend of racing.

On Friday evening at the Alex Wasps night race we raced a 20km flat water race on Midmar dam. The race consisted of 4 x 5km laps with 3 x 300m portages. By the final portage the front group was down to 2 boats including ourselves and Wayne Wilson/Paul Rabinovics. Banji and I ran this last portage hard opening a small gap by the put-in which we were also slowly able to stretch over the final 4.5km paddling to the finish.

On Saturday morning was the Dash and Crash, a race that starts with a 3km lap of Camps  Drift and then bashes down the first 8km of the Dusi canoe marathon course. With consistent  rains the river was running at a good level making the weirs and rapids a lot of fun.

At the Ernie Pierce weir it was great to see 2 or 3 of the Valleys ‘Change a life’ crews still in contact with the leaders. Banji and I went over the first weir in the lead but it was Wilson/Rabinovics who set the pace to and over the Commercial road weir.

With the Gauteng crew of Payne/Robberts still in the mix it was a 3 boat sprint into Mussons rapid. Banji and I took the lead again from here to the finish with Wilson/Rabinovics hot on our tail. Payne/Robberts took an unnecessary swim to allow one of the ‘Change a life’ crews through for a very impressive 3rd place.

Sunday was the toughest of the races, the Campbell’s to Dusi Bridge race which covers 2/3 of the Dusi day 1 course. A unique race where you start on the road with your boat on your shoulder and run for the first 2.5km before getting into the river for the first time. There is probably about 10km of portaging up some VERY steep hills and through a lot of thick bush.

With Banji and I focusing more on our paddling than running training we were not really expecting too much from this race. It was a big surprise when only Ngidi/Zondi had caught us at the top op 2nd Guinea fowl. We ran down Geoff’s road together to start the longest paddle of the day through to the Finger neck portage. Ngidi/Zondi are known more for their running ability so it did not take too long to get away from them on the water. We were able to open up enough of a gap over them to have stress free runs over Finger neck as well as the dreaded Cabbage tree portage. Over the line we came in a satisfying 1min ahead of Ngidi/Zondi. The very close end sprint for 3rd place was taken by Turton/Razmussen from 50-Miler 2nd place finishers Graham/Birkette.

Quality Time

With Banji back down in KZN training together has become so much easier. We have already logged up a good few quality sessions together in both flowing and on flat water.
We are very thankful to Mike Arthur who was kind enough to spend over an hour with us yesterday offering us the valuable technical advice that we so desperately need at this time of the year.
The picture below is of Bunji and I at the end of our awesome paddle/run session on the Umhlanga lagoon this morning.

Earlier on in the week we popped into Popes Canoe Centre to take a look at our new boat for Dusi which they were busy making for us. We have gone for the Reagle II which is basically the high line Eagle (Reagle) which has now also been slim lined. The 50-Miler was the final of our testing paddles in the new shape and the Reagle II passed with flying colours. It has the same feel as the normal Egale on the flats but in the rapids it just seems to cut through the waves so much faster without sacrificing any of the stability. Another huge advantage is for the back paddler while running, with the wings removed the back paddler can now see so much more while negotiating the tricky portages.

50 Miler Canoe Marathon- 1st place!

The 50 Miler is is probably the most serious of the pre-Dusi races. The 2 day race covers almost 2/3 of the full Dusi course.
After a good week of training together Banji and I started the race knowing that it was going to be a good test to see how well we paddle together in a ‘proper’ river!
Soon after the start 3 boats broke clear of the rest of the field. The boats included Jason Graham and Andrew Birkette, Piers Cruikshank and Jacq Theron and ourselves.
Theron/Cruikshank set the pace from the start at Mission rapid through to the Dusi bridge portage. After the portage Banji and I took a turn at the front and lifted the pace slightly. At the tricky Bell rapid section Theron/Cruickshank badly damaged the nose of their boat and we never saw them again.
Running over the 2nd Saddle portage Graham/Birkette stuck to us like glue and it was their fumbling with splash covers at the put-in that allowed us to brake clear. We paddled hard through the confluence and by gauging weir we had opened up to about 1min 15sec over them. We opted for the safer portage around the weir while they chose to shoot and closed us down to about 40sec.
By the finish of day 1 just below Marianey Foley we were in the lead by 45sec from Graham/Birkette.
In the woman’s race the surprise combination of Pitchford and Hodson crossed the line 1st with Mediema and Kime hot on their tail.

50 Miler day 2:
On the 2nd day Banji and I went off 1st in elapsed time and had a brilliant paddle across the dam to the dam wall portage. The 20min on the flat water allowed us to open our lead from 45sec to just over 2min. We had a good but slightly bumpy run down Tops needle rapid, through Side Chute rapid and Umzimnyati rapid by which stage our lead had opened up to 2min 34sec. With only 18cumecs in the Umgeni river the water was crystal clear but their were lots of rocks making the lines pretty technical.
Banji suggested that we shoot Island 1 and 2 which are largest of the shootable rapids on the Dusi course. We had a clean run through both and enough adrenalin to carry us all the way through to the bottom of Five Fingers rapid.
At the bottom of Mango rapid and left with only 45min of flat water paddling we were finally confident that we had the win in the bag. At this stage however fatigue was beginning to set in and we had to dig deep to maintain or speed into the slight head wind which cooled us slightly on the way to the finish.
Our 2nd day was far better than our 1st day with the boat cutting much smoother trough the water as a result of a finding a more comfortable rhythm.
The new combination of Birkette and Graham did well to comfortably hold on to their 2nd place showing that they too will be serious contenders for the Dusi title come January 2010.
In the ladies the superior running ability of Mediema and Kime broke them clear of Pitchford and Hodson at the Pump House weir portage which is an hour from the finish. They held on to this lead to win the woman’s race.

Watch an action re-play of each days racing via GPS tracking!
Day 1
Day 2

Race results:
Men
1. Ant Stott and Michael Mbanjwa NAT-SOW 4:20:21,  2. Andrew Birkett and Jason Graham UKN-NGW 4:28:59,  3. Piers Cruikshanks and Jacques Theron DAB 4:36:02,  4. Lance Kime and Kwanda Mhlophe(U18) NAT/STC-LEM/STC 4:38:16,  5. Michael Patrick and Chris Birlkett(U21) RHO-UKN 4:39:27.

Women
1. Abby Miedema and Robyn Kime INT-US 4:54:56, 2. Hillary Pitchford and Jen Hodson NAT-DAB 4:56:29, Abby Adie and Lindi-May Harmsen NAT-MIL 5:11:03.

Pre-race press release

Post race article

New Balance- Exciting new partnership for Dusi

Banji and I are really looking forward to working closely with New Balance through the build-up and right into the 2010 Dusi Canoe marathon.
As of today New Balance has hooked us up with some of their latest shoes which we will be using for training and racing!
I’ll be racing in the really stable RC769. On the road for my training I’ll be wearing the light weight and speedy looking MR827.
Aside from shoes we have been kitted out in almost all the gear that New Balance has to offer, shirts, vests, shorts just to name a few.
The New Balance range is really impressive so I would strongly suggest getting to your nearest outlet store right away to check out their stock!

Vaal Marathon- SA K2 river championships

Michael Mbanjwa (Banji) and I once more jumped in the boat together to do the 2 day Vaal River marathon as part of our Dusi preparation. At close to 40km per day it’s quite a tough one.
About 8km into day 1 at the Visgat weir Hank and Len got a bit of a gap over us. We worked hard to close them down at the same time getting some clear water between ourselves and the 3rd placed boat of King and Basson. We spent most of the day working with Hank and Len to gradually open the gap over the 3rd boat.
Theron and Cruickshank who badly holed their boat after about 5km and had to stop for repairs had a stormer of a day. After loosing about 3min they came flying through the field to finish only 40sec behind us along with 3 other boats.
Day 2- In the elapsed time start we went off 1sec behind Hank and Len. It did not take long at all for the 2nd group to make contact with us after starting 40sec later. Almost immediately as the group caught us 6 boats become 4, the front group was comprised of Hank/Len, Myself/Banji, Theron/Cruickshank, King/Basson.
The pace varied throughout the day with most of the flat out racing being done in and around the rapids. When it came to the end sprint all 4 boats will still together. It was Len and Hank who took the win from Theron and Cruickshank, Banji and I were content with 3rd. King and Basson had to settle for 4th after being stuck on the outside for the 90 degree turn into the final sprint.