Ladies and Gentlemen, with one week to go before the unique Ultra-Paddle, presented by the Berg, we are overwhelmed with the response from around the world!
Here are a few things that we have been asked frequently, and that every paddler should know when they take on the Ultra-Paddle.
• You can paddle any craft! K1/K2/K3/SUP, and everything in between (we have an entry for the first ever C1 to take on the Ultra-Paddle) is welcomed! We want everyone on the water, so it doesn’t matter what craft you are in or how you go about taking on the challenge – we welcome every type of boat that can be paddled.
• The Ultra-Paddle dates are from the 8th of July till the 31st of July. So from the 8th (the date that the Berg River Marathon was supposed to start) paddlers will have the whole month of July to test themselves with completing their version of the Ultra-Paddle!
• If you are trying your hand at the Gold Option for the Ultra-Paddle, the 4 days do not have to be consecutive! The requirement for the Gold Certificate is that the 240km must be completed in ONLY 4 Days. So in theory you could paddle 60km per day on Saturday and Sunday, over two weekends, and qualify for the Gold Certificate.
• We encourage you to challenge the race records and stage records of previous Berg winners!! We will soon be posting the infamous records of Berg legends in years gone by, for each stage and component of the 240km Berg River Marathon, and it would be epic to see some brave challengers take on those records and try and break them in their versions of the Ultra-Paddle!
• Hank McGregor will be grinding out his Ultra-Paddle Gold Option on the Berg River, and will be starting each day (at a time to be confirmed shortly) on the route from Paarl to Velddrif. The man who has won the Berg 11 times would love to see some fellow Ultra-Paddlers on the water at some stage, so there is the possibility to meet up with Hank at different stages of the route and paddle with the legend himself (if you can hang on)
Put your entries in, if you haven’t done so already, and get to the water on the 8th of July for the Ultra-Paddle!
Proceeds are going to the Canoeing South Africa Food Relief Fund, so we appreciate your support to a great cause!
We look forward to seeing you all take on this challenge from our virtual seats!