29 December 2005

The race for the Margaret Baker Trophy has intensified today during the 2005 Red Cross Herald Sun Murray Marathon, with the lead becoming a mere four minutes.

Tom Simmat, from Belrose in QLD (total time 15:55:15) has the handicapped lead on day three, and the 57 year old continues to maintain a blistering pace in his second event.

Tom is attempting to win two Margaret Baker Trophies from two attempts - a compromise with his wife allows him to spend every second year on the Mighty Murray.

Willy Morris, 53, (total time 15:59:21) from Beveridge (VIC) is coming a close second in the handicap, after spending a considerable amount of time with 30 litres of water leaking into his boat. Willy found himself with a sizeable hole in his canoe during the last leg of Day Two, and needed the help of Australian Red Cross volunteers to lift his boat out of the water.
 
Judy Clark, 47, (16:22:14) of Echuca (VIC) who is competing in her 19th Murray Marathon, continues to dominate her female competitors with a 40-minute lead over her nearest rival, Erin O'Keefe.

Camberwell Grammar continues to shine in the schools' competitions with their teams holding first place in the Open School Relay (18:44:13) and the Under-16's School Relay (20:05:47). The sprint to the finish was full of excitement, with a challenge from the Woodleigh Water Ratz taking line honours by a tiny four seconds.
 
Day three also saw the continued domination of Simon Stenhouse in taking line honours with the defending champion claiming his eighth consecutive yellow shirt (he claimed all five in 2004). The Canberran seems on track to meet his goal of an historic 10 consecutive line honours, despite feeling tired at the conclusion of day three.

Day four (Friday 30/12/05) will see paddlers battle along the shortest leg of the event, 62 kms from Echuca to Torrumbarry. The weather bureau is predicting a scorcher with the mercury set to top 40 degrees as the fleet makes its way to Swan Hill for the conclusion of the event on New Year's Eve.