With an official hashtag of #TheUltimateCanoeRace, the 240 km Berg River Canoe Marathon is one of those rare events that lives up to its marketing hype. This year the four-day race through the beautiful Western Cape farmlands from Paarl to Velddrif will take place on July 2-5.
The event is the ultimate test of canoeing ability and deserves its place as one of South Africa’s major paddling events. Participants can rely on the fact they will be tested from start to finish, and entrants know that to simply finish the four-day epic, they will need to call on a full range of canoeing skills and mental determination.
The list of winners from the previous 62 Berg River Canoe Marathons reads like a who’s who of elite South African canoeing: World Champions Hank McGregor, Andy Birkett and Adrián Boros, are mixed in with South Africans who have dominated locally and internationally.
McGregor says he is “super excited” for the 2025 delivery of the annual event and will be heading down earlier to scout the river as conditions are looking “tough”. Speaking on the predicted weather conditions, McGregor says “that’s what the Berg is all about; tough, hard conditions, 240 km of paddling – Paarl to Velddrif – it is one of those bucket list events. It is probably, if not, the toughest canoe marathon in the world,” he says, adding that this will be his 17th Berg. I’m hoping for a good, clean race. I’m sure I’m going to make mistakes, just hopefully I’ll be strong enough to counter them.”
The undisputed King of the Berg is surely McGregor with 13 wins. The 47- year-old will this year, once again, be hoping to regain the title he first won in 2000 as a 22-year-old, and last won in 2023 when he became the race’s oldest winner. The Queens of the Berg, who jointly share their crown, are Marinda Hartzenberg and Jean Cole with seven wins apiece.
This years race will see 10 former champions on the start line with a combined total of 32 race wins. McGregor and last year’s runner up, Robbie Herreveld, lead the way with 13 and six wins respectively, while the top champions in the women’s race are Bianca Beavitt and Jenna Nisbet (Ward) with three and two titles respectively.
The list of paddlers who have not been able to complete this gruelling event is long, and their stories are littered with tales of long distances; tricky swirling river conditions; icy cold weather; howling headwinds; dangerous tree blocks; and treacherous weirs.
However, those hardships also mean the finishers medal is highly valued by those who do complete the arduous four-day journey – and also means Jannie Malherbe, with an incredible 51 race finishes (including three race wins), is regarded as something of a legend in canoeing folklore. Leading the way among the women finishers is Lisa Scott, who is this year aiming for her 15th Berg medal.
The tough nature of the event is in stark contrast to the beautiful Western Cape farmlands. The Berg River carves a path as it meanders from Paarl, through the Drakenstein, Swartland and Bergrivier regions, until paddlers emerge 240 km downstream in Velddrif and are rewarded with their precious finishers medal.
