Cesky Krumlov River Marathon, live.

Nine weirs down the Vltava

A paddling marathon down the upper Vltava to the brewery garden in Český Krumlov, with weirs to run or carry and one portage nobody may skip.

The 2026 International Cesky Krumlov River Marathon was paddled on Saturday 10 October. Kayaks and canoes started at about 11:00 from the Pod Hrází campsite in Vyšší Brod for 36 km; SUPs, rafts, punt boats and C5–C9 crews started from the campsite in Rožmberk nad Vltavou for 25 km. Both fields finish by the brewery garden in Český Krumlov, and the finish closes at 16:30.

The organiser grades the river WW I–II and counts nine weirs on the 36 km and six on the 25 km, with portages allowed at each. One portage is compulsory: at the Na Pískárně campsite every crew leaves the water on the left bank and carries or pulls its boat through a marked corridor of about 150 metres, past a refreshment station. Missing it means disqualification. The organiser gave the flow as about 20 m³/s, and safety boats sweep the river from Vyšší Brod at 11:40 through Rožmberk, Zátoň, Pískárna, Větřní and Rechle to the finish at 16:40.

For anyone on the bank, Livebib answers the question every river race raises: where on the bends are they now? The paddler shares a link to their own broadcast; it opens in a browser, no account and no app, and shows the position on the river line, the distance covered and a finish estimate that updates as they go. A phone in a dry bag in a wooded valley can lose signal; the position is then carried forward along the course and marked as estimated, never shown as measured.