Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon 2024 8 March 2024
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Who's tough enough
for the Dusi in a Day?

Hi {name},

The "easy" three-day Dusi Canoe Marathon has come and gone, and now the hard men and women of canoeing are limbering up for the "real" challenge, the Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon – or as it is colloquially known, the Dusi in a Day.

 

The Non-Stop sees paddlers tackling the Dusi under the rules which were pretty much in force when Ian Player took on the challenge to paddle from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in 1951 / 52: The first person to Durban is the winner, with no specified overnight stop.

 

What is significantly different, is that it took Player six days, eight hours and 15 minutes to make the journey just over 70 years ago in his wood and canvas boat, and this year's winners will probably finish between seven and nine hours, depending on river conditions, in their sleek kevlar and fibre-glass racing craft.

 

Another new feature the traditionalists will note about this year's Dusi in a Day, is that the start venue will follow the lead of the recent three-day version and paddlers will be setting off from Bishopstowe Hall, as they did two weeks ago.

 

In the one-day version, paddlers have more latitude to use portages to cut out some loops in the river, and so the final distance covered by the race winners will be less than the 108km Andy Birkett and Matt Fenn travelled to win the three-day event recently.

 

The Eastern Cape Dusi Champions are unlikely to be making the trip to KZN for the one-day event, but the field is still likely to be packed with paddlers who filled the top ten in the recent Dusi.

 

The event seems to lend itself to an element of intrigue with paddlers always a bit cagey about their plans and partners before race day, but Dusi runner up, Msawenkosi Mtolo, has won the race for four years in a row with Thabani Msia and they are expected to be attempting to aim for five from five.

 

For the past two years, Nqobile Makhanya and Sandile Mtolo have been their closest challengers and if both crews opt to tackle the event again, then another thrilling battle could be on the cards.

 

Entries are now open via Canoeing SA entry portal and full rules here.

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