An Australian paddling representative, Mike Mills-Thom, from Coffs Harbour broke the K1 Men's Masters 3 record at the Gregory Canoe marathon on the weekend, in 3.13.11.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The course was inundated with 151 paddlers and 84 canoes and kayaks, making the annual marathon a mental and physical challenge for all the competitors.
Mount Isa paddler Allan Cross crossed the line in second place with a time of 3.19.22, followed closely by Sunshine Coast paddler David Smith 3.21.38.
The short course which commenced at checkpoint three and runs downstream for 18km was won by Ross Johnston in 1.30.26.
North West Canoe Club organiser Allison Whitehead said once again this year they had a stand-up paddle board entry, but this year he completed the entire course.
"Matthew Kretschmann-Smith paddled the short course last year and was concerned about the time cutoffs but he made it, in a time of 5.51.19. The first ever SUP paddler in the long course," Whitehead said.
The results from the Saddle and Paddle:
TK1 1st Jeff Stuart 3.49.17
2nd Ray Robinson 4.01.58
3rd Steve McLay 4.05.20
TK1 Women 1st Nicky Donaldson 4.25.10
2nd Donna McCormack 4.25.47
Long Plastic 1st Lance Bennett 3.39.03
2nd Rick Finch 3.45.03
3rd Gary Hume 3.57.38
Long Plastic Women 1st Jennifer Bennett 4.32.14
Canadian Team Challenge 1st Cobras 4.12.31
TC2 (2 Paddlers) 1st Mark Kennedy and Rod Clark 3.54.57
2nd 3.58.10 Tav Cameron and Mark Thinee
3rd 4.14.17 Phil Arnold and Frank Kingma
For over 40 years, the Gregory Downs Jockey Club has partnered with the North West Canoe Club to host the annual horse races and canoe marathon called Saddles and Paddles, kicking off the festivities with a camp dinner on Friday evening.
Whitehead said the dinner of pig on the spit, roast vegetables and dessert is an annual event to thank all the volunteers.
"A lot of work goes into preparing, organising and cleaning up after the event."
"And we want everyone to know we appreciate their support," she said.
While you are here, subscribe to our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox at 6am every Friday.