Ruta Maya kicks off in San Ignacio
Europe may have the Tour de France, the United States might boast the Iron Man Challenge but here in Belize, we’ve got the La Ruta Maya River Challenge. “Ruta Maya” is basically four days of INTENSE paddling down 174 miles of the Macal and Belize Rivers but every year, more and more people decide to take the challenge. News Five’s Janelle Chanona and Rick Romero got up long before dawn and were at the start of the race this morning under the Hawkesworth Bridge in San Ignacio for the signs and sounds at the starting line.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Every “canoer” says their team has a battle plan but when that gun goes off, it’s nothing but paddle paddle paddle and even that can lead to trouble. The excitement dies off as the last canoe rounds the bend and the reality of what these people are up against starts to sinks in. Prior to the race, the paddlers gear up to look the part of athletes, every one of them a little nervous. The past champions, the men from Manatee sponsored by Cheers, say their experience makes them confident.
Leonard Myers, 1999 Champion, Cheers Team
“For workout, we workout in something like a barge, so that when we come out here we have all the strength, energy and force to go down this river.”
Other teams haven’t bothered with practicing, at all. The strategy is rest up first.
Janelle Chanona
“Guys I understand you have not been practicing at all, this is your first Ruta Maya, how are you feeling this morning?”
Adrian Lizarraga, Paddler
“I feel kind of sleepy.”
Janelle Chanona
“How do you think you will be feeling later in the day as the race progresses?”
Adrian Lizarraga
“Like how we never me deh practice, I think we will be rested so I think we got an advantage over everybody else.”
Janelle Chanona
“Did you all set out just to have females in the boat or that’s just how it happened?”
Cathy Barothy, Paddler
“Definitely all females.”
Janelle Chanona
“Why?”
Cathy Barothy
“Why not? If the men can do it, why can’t we?”
Lindy Bradley, Paddler
“What men can do, girls can do better.”
Janelle Chanona
“What did you all do to prepare for this race?”
Lindy Bradley
“We didn’t do really much, just a couple of paddles up the river.”
Janelle Chanona
“You feel confident you’ll finish?”
Edith Young, Paddler
“Definitely. Definitely.”
By contrast, the soldiers from the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) have been practicing for about two months.
David Singleton, Paddler
“We’ve been doing sprint training and we’ve been doing distance training between 16 and 30 miles a day and we did the first two days over a weekend. So we’ve done a lot of training
and we’re confident we’re going to position well.”
Elias Galdez, Spectator
“I want to see who will win this year. I’m looking out for the Placencia boat, “Joe Dick” for Mr. Lindo and Scotia Bank; those are the three best designed boats on the river right now. I feel like “Joe Dick” will get it.”
In today’s first leg of the four-day race, the canoes sponsored by Pine Lumber, Builder’s Hardware and Black Rock Lodge exchanged the lead and various station prizes. In the end the first boat to pull in to the finish at Banana Bank Lodge was Black Rock. Their winning time was somewhat off last year’s winning pace, likely due to lower water in the river. Saturday’s leg finishes at Bermudian Landing, Sunday’s at Burrell Boom and on Monday, sometime during the mid-morning, the overall Ruta Maya champion will cross under the Belcan Bridge.
