The Massive Murray Paddle, formerly the Red Cross Murray Marathon or Murray Marathon, and later the YMCA Massive Murray Paddle, is an Australian 404 km, 5-day canoe/kayak flatwater race on the Murray River. One of the longest annual flatwater canoe races in the world, it starts in

Yarrawonga Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira local government area in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is situated on the south bank of the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales, and is located approximately n ...

and ends in Swan Hill. The race raises funds to assist local community-driven programs. There are also a number of lead up races to the event. These include the Clarence 100, Hawksbury Canoe Classic, Echuca Mini, Barwon Mini and the Riverland Paddling Marathon.

History

The event began in 1969 with a few friends organising a fundraiser for the Australian Red Cross, who then managed the event as a major fundraiser, running the event for nearly 40 years. The Australian Red Cross ended its association with the event after the 2008 race. The YMCA Victoria took over the event from 2009 to 2015. In 2014, the event was renamed from "Murray Marathon" to "YMCA Massive Murray Paddle", and the date was moved from 27 to 31 December, to late November.Date change ahead for Murray Marathon
ABC News, 12 December 2013 Since 2016, the event has been co-owned by Sydney Harbour Kayaks and Mirage Sea Kayaks. All funds raised went to the Red Cross from 1969 to 2008, and to the YMCA from 2009 to 2015. From 2016's event, paddlers were able to choose their own charities or social causes to raise funds for. The 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Mighty Murray Paddle cancelled

Shepparton News ''Shepparton News'' is a daily morning newspaper serving Shepparton, Victoria. It was established in 1887 by Thomas Haslam as a weekly broadsheet and was purchased by Colin McPherson the following year. The ''News'' is owned by McPherson Media ...

, September 22, 2020

Craft and entry classes

A range of classes cater for a wide range of craft, from racing canoes and kayaks as defined in the ICF regulations, through to touring craft as defined in Australian Canoeing regulations to

surf skis A surfski (or: "surf ski", "surf-ski") is a type of kayak in the kayaking "family" of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, altho ...

, outrigger canoes and recreational paddle-craft such as sea kayaks. There are several special categories for paddlers using Mirage Sea Kayaks The 2017 event saw a surf boat and several stand-up paddle boards (sups) including a two-person SUP. Adult or Junior entrants can choose to paddle full distance, (or as long as they can manage), single day challenge or as part of a relay team.

Route

The five days of the event for 2016 were: * Day 1, Yarrawonga to Tocumwal. 94 km with 3 checkpoints * Day 2, Tocumwal to Picnic Point. 96 km with 3 checkpoints * Day 3, Picnic Point to

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

. 76 km with 3 checkpoints * Day 4, Echuca to

Torrumbarry Torrumbarry is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Campaspe local government area and on the Murray Valley Highway, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Torrumbarry had a population of 279. The town w ...

. 63 km with 3 checkpoints * Day 5, Murrabit to Swan Hill. 75 km with 3 checkpoints Until 2013, the five days were from 27 December to 31 December. This switched to late November from 2014 onwards. Officials record each paddler's progress at every checkpoint for safety and time-keeping purposes. Checkpoints allow competitors and teams to change paddlers, pick up refreshments and rest during the event. A section of the river between Torrumbarry and Murrabit is not paddled. The course is sometimes changed if river and access conditions dictate, but total distance is maintained as best as possible. In some years, difficulty accessing the checkpoints (or due to extreme weather conditions) for Day 2 has seen the Day 1 course paddled twice.

References

External links

Massive Murray Paddle WebsiteVicSuper Murray Marathon 2012 photo gallery
{{Canoeing and kayaking Canoeing and kayaking competitions in Australia Murray River Canoe marathon