27 December 2006

Thermals were essential attire this morning for more than 700 competitors who converged on the banks of the Murray River at Yarrawonga from 6am for the start of the 404km Red Cross Murray Marathon.

The brisk dawn was a shock to eager paddlers who have travelled from the Northern Territory and Queensland for the Red Cross fundraising event, but entrants from as far as Essex in the UK and Tasmania were among those hoping the cooler weather would hold out.

Today’s perfect conditions helped the K4 team in boat 123 to break the record by more than ten minutes, crossing the line in five hours, 36 minutes and one second. A cool tail breeze made a welcome change from last year, when temperatures soared into the mid-40s and heat-affected birds dropped from the trees on the banks of the river.

Dubbed the “Super Boat”, the K4 team in boat 123 is made up of veteran Marathon paddlers Nev Hargreaves of Yarrawonga and Simon Stenhouse of Canberra with former Australian Kayak Team members, Tim Naughtin and Michael Leverett. The team is hoping to take out the fastest time in the event and line honours for each of the five days.

“We’re hoping to break the 25 hour mark, which has never been done before,” said Nev Hargreaves, who put the team together with the aim of setting a Red Cross Murray Marathon record that would be “bloody hard to break!”

This morning, former clowns, Air Force cadets and self confessed ‘old chooks’ joined the super fit athletes on the water for the first leg of the race, which at 92kms is the second longest, and reached Tocumwal this afternoon from 2.15pm, with the last paddlers straggling home in the early evening.

The event began in the summer of ’69 when ten friends came together in seven canoes to battle the Murray and raise $250 for the Australian Red Cross. Last year’s event generated more than $350,000 for vital Red Cross services, including the work recently undertaken by Red Cross Emergency Services volunteers in areas affected by bushfires. 

Each year, on 27 December, around 3000 land crew and 400 volunteers rally around the paddlers as they set out from Yarrawonga to begin the annual Murray River adventure through some of Victoria’s most beautiful scenery. The race draws a myriad of boats, from canoes and kayaks to surf skis, pedal-powered and life-saving boats and even one made from corrugated iron.

During the event paddlers and their land crew form a moving tent city, which stops in the Murray River towns of Tocumwal, Echuca, Cohuna and Swan Hill. The massive group is hard to miss, especially in a town like Cohuna, where the population almost triples when the Red Cross Murray Marathon comes through town.

The event attracts people of all ages and abilities, with relay teams there for a laugh and a good cause, paddling alongside elite athletes chasing Marathon glory. After five days on the water, everyone meets in Swan Hill to celebrate New Year’s Eve.