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 The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

. 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 ...

and ends in

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peo ...

. 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 The Australian Red Cross, formally the Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1923 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, the Australian Red Cro ...

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

.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 Med ...

, September 22, 2020

Craft and entry classes

A range of classes cater for a wide range of craft, from racing

canoes A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

and

kayaks A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

as defined in the ICF regulations, through to touring craft as defined in

Australian Canoeing Paddle Australia is the governing body for the sport of canoeing and kayaking in Australia. History The body was founded in Bexley, New South Wales on 10 September 1949 as the Australian Canoe Federation and affiliated with the International ...

regulations to surf skis,

outrigger canoe Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger ...

s and recreational paddle-craft such as

sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the man ...

s. 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 Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne ...

. 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 ...

. 76 km with 3 checkpoints * Day 4, Echuca to Torrumbarry. 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 Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a loca ...

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