Hard Training….Harder Racing
All smiles at the end of a hard weeks training and racing.
Campbells to Dusi Bridge- 28km, is the ‘Race of Truth’ in the build up to the Dusi Canoe Marathon. It’s got portages, rapids and there is no where to hide. All the top guys started with their canoes on their shoulders, running the 2km over rough terrain like there was no tomorrow. The less energetic could opt to paddle off the start, however they would lose some time the land-lopers.
After 14min of paddling, the 3.5km Guinea Fowl portage awaited, including the infamous Devils Cauldron. It was here that the ‘Change a Life’ valley boys made their move, with Thomas/Eric powering themselves into 2nd place. Zonele/Nhlanhla looked smooth and in control as they moved up in to 4th. Lucas/John battled their way to put back in to the river in 5th, (later paying the price for this huge exertion), but putting in just ahead of the strong Carter-Brown brother combo.
Already over halfway, Thomas/Eric looked impressive extending the gap to third and punching through Mission rapid cleanly.
Zonele/Nhlanhla, still paddling well and looking cool had dropped a position to one of the Dusi podium hopefuls, Andrew Birkett/Jason Graham. So to had Lucas/John who where now just behind the Carter-Browns.
Fingerneck Portage was a ‘chip & a putt’, for some.
The final 2.5km Cabbage-Tree Portage can be a beast if your legs are not conditioned. It starts with a 22% gradient making all participants walk, barring a select few.
Thomas & Eric flying down Cabbage Tree, just before putting back in the River.
Quick getaway….
Thomas/Eric crossed the line at Dusi Bridge in 2nd. It was great to see Thomas finding some form as he was ill for three weeks after the Triple Challenge. Zonele/Nhlanla were happy finishing fifth, now motivated to train harder (or could it be the good prize money incentive for the top contenders?). Lucas was disappointed with their 7th place finish, but John admitted to struggling and put it down to not pushing hard enough during training, so there is room for improvement. I was surprised with Nkosi/Tom only finishing 11th, (Nkosi was 2nd last year), however it made sense when Tom told me he wasn’t feeling well. Richard/Spha had the result of the day, finishing 13th. Spha is a brand-new recruit to the ‘Change a life’ Academy.
From not finishing 50-Miler having broken their boat on day 1, Mzamo/Mmeli won the juniors, finishing 15th.
It was a pity Lance was down with Dusi guts and so didn’t race. It would of been good to see if they (Lance/Kwanda) could hold their own on the running as well, because at 50 Miler they paddled themselves to 4th overall.
A wake-up call for some, but overall a successful performance from my Valley boys. Admittedly, some ‘big-guns’ from Gauteng weren’t present, none-the-less the results were very encouraging.
DASH ‘n CRASH CANOE RACE
(day before the Campbells to Dusi Bridge Race)
Fast and furious racing from the start of Dusi, from Campsdrift to Low level bridge- 8km down-stream.
Front four going down Earnie Pearce Weir (Nkosi & Tom at the top)
Tom/Nkosi snuck into third, when Gauteng crew Gavin/Alex swam at the Highway Rapid a few 100m from the finish line. Lucas/John, Zonele/Nhlanhla, Tom/Eric and Richard/Spa all made it into top 12.
Richard Cele and new recruit Sphamandla Sibisi
TRIPPING…RAIN, RAIN, GLORIOUS RAIN
There was a vicious storm last Wednesday night and the Dusi became the drainage canal for all this runoff. On Thursday, we jumped onto a flooding River at Dusi Bridge to trip Day 2. The water was dark chocolate. The ‘Change a Life’ boys eyes were big, wishing their fast twitchy Eagle K2 could magically be turned into a slow stable Accord. Having done the Saddles portages, to our surprise we put in to a clear medium level Dusi, having passed the water.
A little disappointed we continued through the Confluence, down to Gauging Weir. From there we went back to do Confluence again. The fore of the Flood waters had just arrived. While we stood there watching masses of islands of Hyacinth float past, the River rose a meter. Now the boys started ragging each other nervously, saying there is no need to do laundry later as the Washing Machine Rapid will sort that out.
Admittedly it was the fullest I have paddled on the Dusi. Washing Machine was non-negoitiable, with the hugest keeper wave at the bottom. Thomas & Eric had a nerve racking swim soon after, damaging their boat badly enough that we had to fetch them later. After Marianney-Foley Bridge, Rich and Spha got swallowed up in a no-name rapid/hole and spat out upside-down.
We again passed the water doing the Ngumeni portage and once through Tombi Rapid, I eddied out to look back to watch the water rise to a level that washed straight over the Pinnacle Rock within a few minutes. Hippo was relatively easy sliding down the rock face on the right.
I think two swims and one broken boat was a small price to pay for the invaluable experience gained from that wild flooding Dusi trip.