From Jennie: After the heat of the day before, the Dambuster race day dawned murky and overcast although humidity promised showers later which did occur and the shade from the glaring sun may have offered the 125 finishers some relief!
The water at Emmarentia Dam churned choppily as some 75 boats chased around the dam for a fast paced 8 laps before wending their way up the steep rocky slope to do the 3.5km run around the bird park sanctuary area across the road avoiding the Botanical gardens where pensioners, pram pushers and dog walkers take exception to the frightening rush of top speed canoeists carrying boats along the paths! And back on to the dam for the final hard 8 lap sprint to the finish!
The likely Top Gauteng Dusi finishers raced unrelentingly without pause to gain advantage on this training race at the peak of their training for the endurance event coming up next week, with the top three boats finishing within 3 seconds of each other eventually led by Piers Cruikshanks and Michael Stewart (Dabs/ERK) in 1:30:19, with Loveday Zondi/Jandre Bezuidenhout (SOW/FLCC) in 1:30:20 and Jonathan Niemann / Gavin Payne in 1:30:21 (FLCC/ERK) followed by Siseko Ntondini and Tom Ngcobo (SOW) in 1:34 as the first Under 23 partnership.
The winning juniors were Sifiso Cebekhulu and Thando Ngamlana (SOW) in 1:35 in 7th position and the first K1 finisher Shaun Maphanga (FLCC) in 1:37 as the second Sub Vet in 9th position overall managing to use his peaking running skills with no dog to hamper him, to pass Jacques Theron who finished as 4nd Sub Vet and 2nd K1 in 1:39, 12th position!
The first Veterans were Luke Symons/James Godden (DABS) in 1:43 in 15th place, with the winning ladies team of Jen Hodson and Donna Winter coming in to finish 18th in 1:44 (Dabs/KIN). The only other ladies finishers were Antoinette Kriel and junior lady Under 18 Karima Hare (JCC/FLCC) who finished 66th in 2:12. The winning Mixed Double were Sean and Sarah Evans (DABS) in 1:50 also second vets, in 28th position.
The first Sub Grand Masters were once again Fergus Clark and Noel Bessler (VLC) in 1:47, 42nd position. The winning Sub Master K2 position was won by Gary Davies and Vincent Boulle (DABS) in 2:03 in 51st position, while the winning K2 Masters were 60th in 2:10 - Nick Rodrigues and Deryck Armour (DAB?JCC). The only Great Grand Master to finish was the inimitable Mike Howard (JCC) in 75th position and a time of 2:33.
SO now we're all ready for the Unlimited Dusi and the fast frenetic pace of the past few weeks can slow down to a relaxed tempo as the training tapers giving the participants a chance to rest and lower stress levels, cool tempers and take on the endurance challenge in good mental and physical condition. With only one Klip river race left on the calendar prior to Dusi, a relaxing easy tapered cool down to keep the muscles supple!
Thanks to Dabs organizers and sponsors, marshalls, water points and lunch makers for a great training opportunity!
Jennie Dallas
For: GCU
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