50 Miler Headed for Exciting Finish

The ladies race on day one of the Best 4 Healthcare 50 Miler Canoe Marathon was a mirror image of the men’s title challenge as Team Best 4 Kayak Centre teammates Robyn Kime and Abby Adie accompanied each other down the uMsundusi and uMngeni Rivers.

Both enjoyed solid starts and, after an early spill for third placed Hilary Pitchford at Finger Neck rapid saw her fall a little way back, the two enjoyed each other’s’ company until the closing stages of the encounter saw at chatter diminish and the traditional race faces came out with Kime gaining the slight mental advantage finishing just a second ahead of Adie.

“It was really nice to be back on the river again, even though my river skills were a little rusty after I took a bit of a break after Fish so it took a little while to get back into things,” said Kime.

“It was such an awesome water level though and it was great to be racing against Abby (Adie) again,” she added.

Despite the records showing Adie lying in second place after day one it is all to play for on day two for the pair and race tactics could well play a crucial role in the closing stages of day two.

“I wanted to either finish ahead of or with Robs (Kime) so I’m very happy with how things went for me today,” said Adie.

“It was actually quite nice to be with someone throughout the day and we sat there chatting most of the time until we got pretty close to the end and suddenly we put the hammer down again.”

“It was nice that just the two of us were able to get away early on because anything more than two boats can sometimes get a little crowded and cause you to make some silly mistakes.”

“I’ve been feeling pretty strong since Ozzie Gladwin, especially in the last two weeks, so hopefully I can keep that going tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow can be quite tricky though and Pumphouse Weir and Rapid is definitely my main concern but we’ll just have to see how things go and what the situation is going into there as to whether I shoot it or run around.”

Adie was yet another to sing the praises of the exceptional water level and is particularly fond of the new race format of the event.

“We really are so lucky to be able to paddle tomorrow’s stretch of river with water in the river. Usually we only got once chance before Dusi so this really is awesome,” said Adie.

“The 50 Miler in general though is such a great race when one combines the really fun rapids from today with the great opportunity we have tomorrow and the incredible water level. It really is awesome,” she added.

Despite having felt a little undercooked coming into the encounter Jen Theron added yet another cherry to her 2012 paddling cake when she crossed the line third ahead of the evergreen Hilary Pitchford.

“I had such a great day out there today. I really didn’t expect to be in the top three so I’m very happy,” beamed Theron. “I made the most ridiculous mistake before the race even started when I got stuck on a rock and almost fell in but otherwise it was a great day.”

“I’m a bit of a novice on this river but I absolutely loved driving again and I think I’m going to struggle to sit in the back of a boat down here again.”

Theron also took particular note of the strength and size of the seeded women’s batch, something of a rarity in paddling in years gone by.

“It was absolutely amazing to see so many girls on the start line this morning. Sometimes we’ve arrived at races in the past and there have been five seeded women so it really is awesome to see so many girls so proficient and able to compete at the top,” said Theron.

One of those youngsters who put her hand up on the first day of this year’s Best 4 Healthcare 50 Miler was Brittany Petersen, the first junior girl across the line and fifth lady overall.

Just behind her was under 16 talent Jordan Peek (Team Best 4 Kayak Centre) with Bianca Haw another junior finishing inside the women’s top ten.

Day two of the Best 4 Healthcare 50 Miler Canoe Marathon starts at Inanda Dam and finishes at Blue Lagoon in Durban.

More information and entry forms can be found at www.50miler.co.za