The Belikin La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge is an annual 4-day canoe marathon held in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. It is considered the biggest sporting event in the country, and typically attracts thousands of spectators. The course runs from the Hawkesworth Bridge in San Ignacio to the

Belcan Bridge Belcan, LLC is a global supplier of engineering, supply chain, technical recruiting and information technology (IT) services to customers in the aerospace, defense, automotive, industrial and government sectors. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

, a distance of . It is held each year in March and is scheduled to coincide with the weekend of Baron Bliss Day.

History

The event was first proposed by Richard Harrison, a Belizean investor, as a way to promote a new brand of bottled water. Harrison put together a committee to organize the event and found additional sponsors for services and prizes. Although the original purpose of the race was commercial, Harrison also saw it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the environment and the history and culture of the

Belize River The Belize River runs through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City (). The Belize river valley is largely tropical rai ...

. The first race included 31 teams and was won by the Hobb brothers from Bullet Tree Falls. About 50 teams now compete each year.

Results

References

External links

{{commonscat
Official website

Facebook page
Canoe marathon Sport in Belize