Young guns eye the Dusi
It is a race of endurance, a three-day test of strength, wits and, above all, not succumbing to defeat.
The Hansa Powerade Dusi Marathon is an event which, even if you're watching from the sidelines, you just cannot help getting caught up in.
It's a total drain of reserves and a complete adrenalin rush. It's the "stadium" feeling, that feeling which starts deep in the gut and bubbles all the way up to the surface. Close on 2 000 paddlers will be living that feeling again this week.
The key to success in an event like this is knowledge - knowledge of the route, its twists and turns, the rapids and weirs. Knowledge where to portage and where to paddle. And being able to anticipate your partner's moves before they are even made. Just one break in rhythm across Inanda Dam and the lead can be lost.
But this is not just a race for the pros, whose salary depends on getting to the finish within the top three.
It is for the guys and girls, who make it in each day just before cut-off hour, exhausted but exhilarated. It is for the teams whose canoes are held together by duct tape after they hit the rocks instead of the rapids. It is for the paddlers who slip into the pack leaders' slipstream to catch their breath. It is for the couple who argue the entire Burma Road portage.
The Dusi has seen many changes since its inception in 1951 when eight men - Ian Player, Miles Brokensha, Ernie Pierce, John Naude, Basil Halford, Willie Potgieter, Fred Schmidt and Dennis Vorster - set out in their canoes of wood and canvas from Alexandra Park, Pietermaritzburg.
Six days later, Player, the only one to complete the race, made it to Durban. That was the first official race, but since 1893 paddlers have been tripping down the Umsunduzi.
In more recent years a new, hungry breed of paddlers has come through. Youngsters are taking control of the race and the oldies are slipping behind in the winning stakes.
The favourites for this year's three-day canoe marathon, which starts on Thursday, are 23-year-old Ant Stott and 20-year-old Len Jenkins.
Both won their first Dusi at the age of 19. And the two swept the opposition away last season, with Jenkins taking the Canoe South Africa Grand Prix senior men's title.
Their strongest rivals are likely to be the team of Deon Bruss, 26, and Martin Dreyer, who at 32 is a veteran in the top pack.
Other contenders for the Dusi title and competing for the R50 000 prize money are Sven Bruss and Shaun Biggs, both aged 20, and Piers Cruikshanks and Shaun Rubenstein. All four teams have compiled impressive statistics. But it all comes down to the days of the marathon, and how the competitors deal with the water.
In the women's race, in which the field has increased dramatically over the last few years, competition is expected to be fierce, with Grand Prix senior women's title-holder Antje Manfroni and Janette Walder most likely to continue their winning ways.
Chasing them all the way will be the duos of Abby Miedema and junior girls' Grand Prix holder Alice Rawlinson, and Lorna Oliver and Natalie Woods. All three teams have high endurance levels, and points to prove.
A niggle that has shown up among the female competitors is that their prize money is just R18 000, way below the hefty purse for the men.
And, now to the subject of the dreaded "Dusi guts".
While the water quality has improved, Umgeni Water spokesman Chantal Janneker has warned paddlers to take precautions, especially on day one of the race. "Only when the race enters Inanda Dam on the second day will the water quality be good enough for the race contestants to enjoy a swim in safety," she says.
While watching the last day of the race, which will be televised live on SABC 3 on Saturday, look out for rugby players Gary Teichmann, Henry Honiball and John Allan and Big Brother reality television's Ferdi and Steven.