Friday, 03 June 2011 14:10
Record entry in sight for Windhoek Berg River Canoe Marathon
A deluge of entries for the 2011 Windhoek™ Berg River Canoe Marathon has pushed the number of participants to a level not seen in the past decade, and every prospect of challenging the 1986 race record by the time the four-day race gets under way in Paarl on 13 July.
With the race administrators working feverishly to deal with the surge of entries ahead of the closing of normal entries on Friday evening, the entry had already passed 200, with no sign of the influx abating.
The race record of 305 participants was set in 1986 when a youthful Herman Chalupsky won a fiercely competitive race that celebrated the events 25th anniversary.
Windhoek™ Marketing Manager, Mark von Bentheim is thrilled with the entries and said: “It is encouraging that in our second year of involvement with the event that there is such a tremendous response from paddlers to be a part it.”
“Windhoek™ would like to provide the platforms that enable individuals to be true to themselves; and through this event we are able to do just that. We are excited at this news and look forward to a record field of paddlers that will show 100% pure commitment, ” he added.
The race office is anticipating a steady flow of late entries in the weeks following the close of normal entries, particularly with the news that the team race format has been relaxed and made significantly more flexible.
“It is exciting to see the response to the celebration of the 50th edition of this race,” said Windhoek™ Berg race committee head Andre Collins. “Many of the entrants are paddlers who have not done the race for many years and who are desperate to be part of the 50th Berg.”
“This will never really be a mass participation event because it is such a tough, long distance endurance event,” said Collins “It tends to choose its participants quite carefully as it takes a special breed of man or woman to take on a 240km canoeing race through the middle of the Cape winter.”
“We are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s race really special,” added Collins.
The Windhoek Berg River Canoe Marathon takes place from 13 to 16 July 2011, preceded by a time trial on 12 July.
More information can be found at www.windhoekberg.co.za
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