The Berg River Canoe Marathon – by numbers

Some interesting stats and numbers for the Berg River Canoe Marathon.

1 – The number of times the Berg did not start in Paarl. In 2003 it started at Hermon.
1.44 – The river flow in cubic metres per second at the start of the lowest ever Berg (1978)
2 -The number of times the overall winning time was more than 21 hours. (In 1965 and 1967)
3 -The number of times Jannie Malherbe won the Berg to become the first multiple winner.
4 -The number of times Michael Melck finished in the top 20 as a junior. He was 14th at age 15 and 3 times 7th at age 16, 17 and 18.
5 – The number of paddlers who have completed 40 or more Bergs.
5 – The number of times double winner Andre Collins finished in second place.
6 – The number of times Mynhardt Marais finish in the top 20 as a veteran or master.
7 -The number of times Marinda Hartzenberg won the women title in a row from 1983-1989.
8 – The number of times Chris de Waal finished in the top 20 as a veteran or master.
9 – The most victories by one paddler – Hank McGregor.
10 -The number of Berg finishes you need to become a Bergie.
11 – The number of podium finishes (first three places) by Graeme Solomon.
12 – The number of paddlers who have completed 30 or more Bergs.
16 – The age of the youngest women winner; Cheronne Botes in 1978.
19 – The youngest age of the overall winner; Robbie Herreveld 1991.
20 – The minimum number of Berg finishes you must have to start in the legends batch.
21 – The highest number of women finishers in one year in 2002.
34 – The number of paddlers who have finished 20 or more Bergs
41 – The number of the most Bergs completed in a row; Edgar Boehm 1974-2014.
44 – The age of the oldest winner in 1962 Nollie Meiring.
45 – The most Berg finishes by one paddler – Giel van Deventer

46 – The age of the oldest women finisher Robyn Henderson in 2014.
49 – The lowest percentage of starters to finish the Berg in one of the toughest years in 1971.
62 – The highest age of any paddler to finish in the top 10; Lee McGregor 8th in 2014.
74 – The age of the oldest finisher of the Berg; Jannie Malherbe in 2014.
189 -The number of paddlers to have finished ten or more Bergs
194 – The number of paddlers who have completed 10 or more Bergs.
241 – The number of kilometres between Paarl and Velddrif
467 – The number of paddlers who have completed 5 or more Bergs.
1 401 – The number of paddlers who have completed one Berg only.
2 939 – The number of paddlers completed more than one Berg.
46 300 – The estimated number of paddle strokes required to complete the Berg

The Berg River Canoe marathon starts in Paarl on 15 July and ends at Velddrif on 18 July. More information can be found at www.berg.org.za