Go the distance to make a difference!

Some do it alone.  Some do it with others.  Some are young, some are old.  Some even build their own boats.
But they all have one thing in common – a passion for paddling, having fun and helping the Red Cross.
Australian Red Cross Victoria is calling for participants and volunteers for one of the longest accredited canoe races in the world.
The Red Cross Murray Marathon, now in its 38th year, will take place on the mighty Murray River from December 27 – 31.
Past years have seen more than 800 participants, up to 400 volunteers and 3000 support crew from throughout Australia and the world converge on the banks of the Murray for the annual 404 km river adventure.
People can take on the Murray on their own or have some fun in a relay team.  It’s open to anyone aged 13 and over, with fundraising a condition of entry.  Red Cross is also looking for volunteers to help stage the event.
Twenty-six-year-old Erin Lynch, of East Ringwood in Melbourne, has competed in the Red Cross Murray Marathon since 1996.  She embodies the community spirit of the event, over the years coaching teams of younger paddlers, starting a canoe club from scratch and creating a new class of event, the K4 Challenge, to eliminate barriers to entry for those who have never paddled before.
The 2002 Red Cross Murray Marathon was also where Erin met her partner, Mark.
'It’s the atmosphere, friendships and camaraderie that keep me coming back,” she said.  “I push myself hard when I’m up there, but it’s the best week of my life, and in such a beautiful landscape.'
Sixty-two-year-old Bill Robinson, who is entering the race for the 17th time, paddled solo 2000km up the Murray River early last year, the realisation of a lifetime dream.
He introduced his daughter, Jane Robinson, to the event in 1992, and she went on to become a world champion Quad Sculler.
'It’s one of the great sporting events in Australia where it is possible for people who are not super athletes to achieve their goals, while assisting Australian Red Cross,' he said.
'My advice to anyone thinking of competing – just do it!'
Australian Red Cross Executive Director Andrew Hilton said:  'People of all ages and abilities can get out on this magnificent river and participate in this fun and rewarding event.

Funds raised will help Red Cross deliver services to vulnerable people in Victoria, whether it be serving a nutritious breakfast to children who may otherwise go hungry, or reuniting families who have been separated by war or disaster.'
The annual river adventure began in 1969, when Red Cross volunteer Mark Thornthwaite and some friends paddled the river to raise funds.  They raised $250.  Last year’s event generated revenue of more than $350,000.
The closing date for entries is Friday 1 December.  Go to www.redcross.org.au or phone 1800 246 850.
Australian Red Cross Victoria also is looking for volunteers to help at the event.

While most people are getting ready to put their feet up and enjoy the summer break, more than 700 paddlers from throughout Australia and the world are ready to take on 404 km of the Murray River, all for a good cause.
On Wednesday, 27 December, the paddlers, supported by around 3000 land crew and volunteers, will set out from Yarrawonga to begin the annual Red Cross Murray Marathon adventure. Five days later they will arrive in Swan Hill ready to celebrate New Year's Eve.
The event attracts people of all ages and abilities, with elite athletes pushing to break records paddling alongside relay teams there for a laugh and a good cause. 
While paddling your guts out may not sound like a holiday to most of us, many paddlers return year after year citing friendship and scenery as the drawcards of the event.
Twenty-six-year-old Erin Lynch, of East Ringwood in Melbourne, has competed in the Red Cross Murray Marathon since 1996.  She embodies the community spirit of the event.  Over the years Erin has coached teams of younger paddlers, started a canoe club from scratch and created a new class of event, the K4 Challenge, to eliminate barriers to entry for those who have never paddled before.
Erin also met her partner, Mark, at the Red Cross Murray Marathon in 2002.
'It's the atmosphere, friendships and camaraderie that keep me coming back," she said.  "I push myself hard when I'm up there, but it's the best week of my life, and in such a beautiful landscape.'
One team competing this year won't have much time for the beautiful scenery - former event winners Nev Hargreaves and Simon Stenhouse have teamed together with two former Australian Kayak Team members, Tim Naughtin and Michael Leverett, to paddle the event in a new Olympic class four man kayak. "We're hoping to be the fastest boat on the river," said Nev Hargreaves.
At the other end of the spectrum, 56-year-old Ray Harkness of North Essendon has no such ambitions. Paddling in his home-made canoe constructed from corrugated iron, Ray will just be happy to make it to the finish line before it closes. "You've always got to have one crazy guy on the river," said Ray.
Fundraising for the Australian Red Cross is an integral part of the event. Participants raise vital funds to support Australian Red Cross community and emergency services, including the work currently being undertaken by hundreds of Red Cross volunteers in areas affected by bushfires.
The annual river adventure began in 1969, when Red Cross volunteer Mark Thornthwaite and some friends paddled the river to raise funds.  They raised $250.  Last year's event generated revenue of more than $350,000.

Heat is off as Red Cross Murray Marathon record falls
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.

Chafing on the rump won't stop the super boat

Friday, 29 December 2006
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.

Super boat charges home faster than lightning

31 December 2006
In an electric start to the final day of the Red Cross Murray Marathon, lightning flashed on the western horizon and the east was flooded by a blood-red sunrise, and later this afternoon the four-man ‘super boat’ charged home to victory 50 minutes under the record. They are the first team to break the elusive 25-hour barrier.
After paddling a total of 404 km, the four-man super boat crew achieved their goal of completing the race in the outright fastest time, winning the overall handicap and taking line honours each day. They completed the five-day marathon by paddling into Swan Hill in 24 hours, 18 minutes and 47 seconds.
Their boat was custom-made in Cobram, one of the towns on the Marathon map for this event, and the first time Simon Stenhouse (Canberra), Nev Hargreaves (Yarrawonga), Michael Leverett (Melton) and Tim Naughtin (Corowa) have competed together. Each team member trained by paddling up to 200 km a week over the past four months.
“What we’re seeing here is probably the fastest K4 long-distance team that Australia could ever produce,” says Glenn Hemphill, who set the previous record in 1992 with Nev Hargreaves.
Paddling the final 76 kms in 4 hours 35 minutes and 45 seconds, the super boat came in ahead of 700 other competitors (give or take a few scratchings). Over five days they have travelled through rugged country and a 70,000 hectare red gum forest along the river border shared by NSW and Victoria between Yarrawonga and Swan Hill.
First-time Marathon paddler Ben Maynard took the Red Cross Cup with veteran Marathon team mate Ben Poole in the Olympic class single kayak relay, for the Geelong Canoe Club. They completed the 404 km in 27 hours 8 minutes and 28 seconds.
“I’m a competitive person, but at the roots of it I like river tripping – now more than I ever did as a kid,” said team member Maynard, who has represented Australia four times in kayaking at the sport’s World Cup since 1998.
The Woodleigh Water Ratz from Frankston cleaned up in this year’s rowdy schools relay by completing the race in 29 hours and two seconds, with representatives from each year level of the 500-person secondary school trumping elite teams from grammar schools Trinity and Camberwell.
The weather gods graced this year’s event with vastly different conditions. Last year’s temperatures soared as high as 46 degrees and dehydration was the main ailment to claim exhausted paddlers. A relatively cool average temperature of 29 degrees took the pressure off Red Cross first aid volunteers, who treated around 200 people a day across the five-day event, mostly for blisters, strained wrists and soft-tissue trauma.
Over the full distance, competitors each guzzled at least 93 litres of fluid (roughly three litres an hour), performed 135,000 strokes of the paddle and lathered themselves with half a litre of sunscreen.
The Red Cross Murray Marathon began in the summer of ’69 when ten friends raised $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.