The Minho River Run, from Os Peares to Velle, is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Saturday, 23 June, in Ourense, with the participation of 500 canoeists.

This activity, which has been going for half a century, ‘clearly shows how popularly rooted it is, with much greater participation, tradition and visibility’, according to the mayor of Ourense, Jesús Vázquez.

In 1963, with just two Canadian canoes, a group of athletes from Ourense paddled down the River Minho to publicise water sports. Today, in the municipal council chamber, these same ‘adventurers’ were at the presentation of the 50th Minho River Run.

The tradition started in 1964, when four canoeists in two canoes were taken to Os Peares in the council dust truck, as some of the pioneers of this sport recalled at the presentation. Over time, the form of the run and, above all, the numbers of affiliated participants have changed (currently 4,250 affiliation licences in Galicia), but not ‘the tenacity in navigating our rivers’, as Alfredo Bea, president of the Galician Canoeing Federation, put it.

The presentation was also attended by the Secretary-General for Sport, Marta Míguez, who boasted of the potential of Galician canoeing, stating that is canoeists ‘are among the best in the world’. She also highlighted the region's ‘extraordinary organisation of sporting events, which has improved in leaps and bounds from year to year’, as well as its enviable landscape.

Julio Masid, General Manager of Viaqua (the main sponsor for the event), spoke in a similar vein, stressing how this type of event gives up the opportunity to underline the region's care of the environment, especially in regard to the River Minho, ‘which we take extra special care of’.

The event, organised by the Municipal Council for Sport, will start at 5:30 pm in Os Peares and the 500 canoeists will complete the route at the Velle reservoir.