20th VÕHANDU MARATHON
April 19, 2025
Until the start of the MARATHON
⚠️ IMPORTANT: STARTING TIME CHANGES!
This year, the start will happen at two different times – please pay close attention!
🕖 07:00
Start for RAFT boats and unknown (UNK) boat classes
👉 Starting from Roosisaare bridge directly onto the river (as in previous years)
🕗 08:00
Start for canoes and kayaks who begin with a lake loop
👉 SUP boards will also start at 08:00 from the Roosisaare bridge – the same place as the RAFTs
Why the change?
To avoid congestion caused by RAFT boats during the first kilometers.
In previous years, fast canoes and kayaks quickly caught up with RAFTs, creating dangerous situations and breaking the flow.
This year’s change provides more space and time for everyone, improving safety and the overall race experience.
STARTING MATERIAL PICKUP
You can collect your starting materials from the Võru Race Center:
Thursday, April 17: 16:00–22:00
Friday, April 18: 12:00–24:00
Saturday, April 19: 05:00–07:30
🚦 STARTING GROUPS 2025
Once again this year, canoe and kayak paddlers will be placed into starting groups based on their 2024 result (19th Võhandu Marathon) or previous achievements.
📌 Teams who want to start in ELITE or SUPER groups must fill in a short questionnaire. Only one team member needs to complete it – this helps us mark the correct sticker on your race number.
🎫 Entry into the ELITE or SUPER start group will be checked.
No sticker = no entry to those groups → you’ll start in the MARATHON group, which is open to everyone.
Võhandu Marathon garantees to surprise you
The marathon runs from Lake Tamula to Võõpsu boat harbor. Self-challenging challenges lie ahead on the 100-kilometer trail. It is everyone's story about the river, beauty and pain, suffering and pleasure. At the finish, all the finishers can say in praise: "I've paddled the whole river in one day!" This is your 100-kilometer story. Come and invite a friend! Paddle as a participant or support yours on the river bank!
Good luck with your trainings and see you at the start.
Remember! "You can do more than you think"
Your five-year paddling plan in Estonia
20th VM - JUBILEE! | 2025 | April 19 |
---|---|---|
21st VM | 2026 | April 18 |
22nd VM | 2027 | April 24 |
23rd VM | 2028 | April 22 |
24rd VM | 2029 | April 21 |
Maps
Reminder of the Last Marathon
Entered | 1267 |
Started | 1178 (-89) |
Finishers | 1032 (-146) |
Entered Started Finishers |
2787 ........ 2344 |
Men | S 2298 F ......... |
Women | S 489 F ....... |
Fastest Time | 07:42:01 |
Average Time | 13:46:06 |
Slowest Time | 23:40:43 |
19. Võhandu Marathon 2024
2344 paddlers finished the 19th Võhandu Marathon.
On April 20, at seven o'clock in the morning on Saturday, the start of the world's largest paddling marathon was given in the small Estonian town Võru. A total of 2,787 participants from 29 countries registered for the 19th Võhandu Marathon. In the morning, 1178 boats started, of which 1032 crossed the finish line. There was no new record of finishers, as one more boat finished last year's Võhandu Marathon.
The Võhandu Marathon is a 100-kilometer adventure sports event in Estonia that takes place every year in April, in which thousands of paddlers from many foreign countries take part. The marathon runs from Lake Tamula to Võõpsu boat harbor. It is everyone's story about the river, beauty and pain, suffering and pleasure.
First place went to France for the first time. Pieter Paauw and François Boucher in the K2MEN class finished with a time of 07:42:01, edging Czech competitors Lukas Horak and Oldrich Dasek (K2MEN, time 07:42:04) by just three seconds. Estonian men Andres Kaju and Indrek Kermon came third with a time of 07:51:36.
The first women, Estonians Eve Külasalu and Sigrid Leetsi, in the K2WOM class, took 33rd place overall with a time of 09:04:03.
The last boat, the 1032nd placed boat, reached the finish line on Sunday morning with a time of 23:40:43.
We welcome all paddling enthusiasts from around the world to the 20th Võhandu Marathon on April 19, 2025, the anniversary year.
The Võhandu Marathon photo bank is free for journalists to use. Photos include the author's name. https://www.vohandumaraton.ee/en/gallery/
What is the Võhandu Marathon like? Look at the photos, they will give you an idea of its scale.
- Võhandu marathon uses Google Photo photobank.
- You will be guided to Google photo albums where you can:
- see photos
- comment photos
- share photos
- download photos
- The filenames contain the author's name as well as activity and time information.
- The files are in original size and good quality.
- The entire Võhandu Marathon Photo Bank is for free use.
- Võhandu marathon owns all the rights.
- In commercial use of photos please contact us first.