27 December 2004

Drawing on some rescuing techniques!

Tanzi Lee of Nowra New South Wales is not one to shy away from a challenge and this Christmas holiday season is no exception.  Competing in the Red Cross Herald Sun Murray Marathon Tanzi was today eager to complete day one of the five day, 404 kilometre paddling journey.  Tanzi along with 747 other competitors will be paddling 92 kilometres from Yarrawonga to Tocumwal along the Murray River.

Mr Lee loves to go where the action is.  He has been in the Royal Australian Navy for 14 years since emigrating from England in 1990.  He is a helicopter pilot and was involved in the traumatic Sydney to Hobart rescue in 1998.  Confident that the conditions are better this year Tanzi has turned his back on the ocean and will complete his own personal water based challenge surviving the heat, exhaustion and blisters along the Murray River during the gruelling Red Cross - Herald Sun Murray Marathon.

Tanzi said his motivations were about the personal and mental challenge of making the distance. "I live near the water and go training every week-end.  The marathon for me is about setting myself a challenge and putting in the hard work to achieve it."   He said life in Australia was very different and that he came here to get some extra elbowroom!  Paddling the 404 kilometres of the Red Cross Herald Sun Murray Marathon will require some substantial elbow grease and will test Tanzi's love of a challenge. 

The Red Cross Murray Marathon is the longest flat-water canoe race in the world, covering 404km of the Murray River in Victoria. The event starts in Yarrawonga on December 27 and finishes in Swan Hill on December 31.

The Red Cross Murray Marathon is one of the most important events on the Australian Red Cross calendar, raising funds to help local communities during times of emergency.
There are many different entry options to make it achievable for everyone, including teams, relays, individual, half distance and junior distance categories.

ENDS