Kayaking: Enduro tribute to kayaker

White water kayakers get under way at the start of the Okere Enduro on Saturday. Photo / Stephen Parker

Competitors at the Okere Enduro certainly earned themselves a cold beverage on Saturday night, after a long day on the Kaituna River.

The fourth annual Okere Enduro was staged with teams of three completing as many laps as possible during the six-hour race.

Event founder and organiser Ben Robson said it was a great day won by the team of Jamie Sutton, Tim Pickering and Rachel Lynskey.

"It was a really good day," Robson said. "Everyone was super stoked and a lot of kayakers found out how hard running is. The running is quite a big component of it."

After completing a paddle down the river, each kayaker had to leave their kayak in a trailer before running back to the top of the hill to tag their teammate.

The winning team completed 25 laps of the river which was only matched by one other team. However, the team of Sutton, Pickering and Lynskey completed the 25 laps in a slightly faster time.

Robson said they held a prizegiving at Okere Falls Store and remembered Rotorua's Louise Jull during the awards.

Jull tragically died in a kayaking incident this year, and Robson said she had competed in the first three Okere Enduros.

He said Palm Equipment donated some gear to give away in memory of Jull, who had been a big part of the kayaking community at Okere Falls.