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Congratulations to all those paddlers who finished the Dusi Canoe Marathon last week. Now, with 125 days to go until the 2025 Berg River Canoe Marathon, it is now time to look forward to the next major event on the South African canoeing calendar.
The first step toward taking part in the #TheUltimateCanoeRace is of course making sure you get to the start line in Paarl on July 2, and that means grabbing an entry.
We had an incredible response to the entries opening earlier this month – more people entered in the first week of entries than took part in the 2024 race. With that in mind, the organisers have a discounted Early Bird price for the next few weeks, so paddlers who missed the opening specials can still be part of the 2025 event at a bargain price.
The surge in early entries points to a bumper race in 2025, and the revival of what is probably the ultimate test of canoeing in South Africa.
The Berg is four days of paddling in its purest form. Four days of sitting in a K1 and relying on your own abilities, fitness and mental strength to finish one of South Africa's iconic sporting events. Nobody who has finished the 240km journey from Paarl to Velddrif will ever claim the event is easy, but the sense of achievement when reaching the West Coast town is immense. And it is no coincidence that the list of Berg River Marathon Champions is a good reflection of the country's top paddlers through the years.
With just over four months to go until the 2025 event, there is enough time for you to enter, prepare and be part of #TheUltimateCanoeRace on July 2-5.
A series of four preparation events, starting with the Paarl to Skooltjie race on May 17, will give potential paddlers an opportunity to get a preview of most of the route and these races are a great opportunity to test your fitness and preparedness to tackle The Berg.
The other pre-Berg preparation events are Wellington to Hermon (May 31); Hermon to Gouda (also WP K1 Championship – June 7); and Gouda to Bridgetown (June 21). Together with the Berg River Marathon (July 2-5) and the recent West Coast Canoe Challenge, these races all form part of the Berg River K1 Series which will be offering a new kevlar Salt K1 as a lucky draw. Anyone who completes four days of racing will go into the draw. With nine racing days in the series – five one-day races and the four-day Berg River Marathon – paddlers are able to earn two entries into the draw to win a kevlar version of the same boat which was paddled to victory by Tom Lovemore in 2024.
As the saying goes, you have to be in it to win it (although, we believe everyone who is paddling the Berg is already a winner).
For more info on the series CLICK HERE
The 2025 Berg River Marathon will take place on July 2-5.
Entries are via the Canoeing SA entry portal HERE
For more info please visit the RACE WEBSITE
#TheUltimateCanoeRace
#BergRiverMarathon2025 |
