Competitors breathed a sigh of relief as they paddled under the Barmah Bridge and passed the halfway mark of the Red Cross Murray Marathon today, breaking more records along the way.

The strain of the 266kms traversed so far is starting to show at the end of the third day, but the elite four-man 'super boat' led by Marathon veteran Nev Hargreaves is paddling through the pain and into the record books, bringing home their boat in four hours 37 minutes and 46 seconds. Almost seven minutes under today's record.

Tailing the 'super boat' for the second day in a row was the school relay team Woodleigh Water Ratz, who performed a text-book perfect paddle and crossed the line in second place with a time of five hours 22 minutes and 28 seconds.

"Our success is thanks to hard training, good team building and pushing one another each day. We enjoy the challenge, but don't enjoy the lack of sleep and soreness after each race," said Arthur Alge, Woodleigh Water Ratz team captain.

Today's 78km journey took paddlers through a 70,000 hectare red gum forest. Chafing on the rump, blisters on the palms and sunburnt bodies are common ailments being treated by Red Cross first aid volunteers as the 404km Marathon takes its toll on the 700 paddlers, their 3000 land crew and 400 volunteers. Red Cross first aiders have treated about 500 people since Boxing Day.

Paddlers are being urged to keep their fluids up, as temperatures rise and the convoy makes its way into Swan Hill, where the event finishes on New Year's Eve.

When they finally down tools at the end of the race, full distance competitors will have performed around 135,000 strokes of the paddle over five days, guzzled 93 litres of fluid each and lathered themselves with half a litre of sunscreen and coloured zinc.

The Red Cross Murray Marathon began in the summer of '69 when ten school friends came together 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.
 
Day four takes paddlers on from Echuca to Torumbarry, at 62km it's the shortest leg of the event. The boats to watch are the K4 'Superboat' who will have to push themselves to take out line honours, as the staggered start makes the task more difficult over day four's shorter distance.