Võhandu Marathon, live.

100 km down the Võhandu in spring

The Võhandu Marathon is a 100 km paddling race down the Võhandu River in southern Estonia, from Tamula beach in Võru to the boat harbour at Võõpsu.

The 22nd edition is on Saturday 24 April 2027. First held in 2006, the race now has room for up to 1500 boats and 3200 participants. In 2026, 1,186 boats started and 1,077 finished, a finish rate of 91 percent.

The 100 km starts in waves. SUP boards and several boat classes go at 07:00 and rafts at 07:30, straight onto the river, while kayaks and canoes start at 07:45 from Tamula beach with a 5 km loop on the lake first. There is a 24 hour time limit, with timed checkpoints at 7, 31, 41, 49, 75 and 90 km and food at 41 km, 75 km and the finish. The organisers strongly recommend a support car with food, drink, dry clothes and head torches waiting at the checkpoints and bridges.

For people who want a shorter day, the open route of 45 km runs from Paidra to Leevaku. Its start is open between 9:00 and 12:00, the limit is 10 hours and there is no cap on numbers.

Outside help with carrying boats around obstacles is allowed and recommended, and the instructions list every checkpoint and cut off time in advance. Registration opens on 1 January and closes on 31 March, and the lowest entry fees are in January.

On Livebib you can follow a paddler live if they choose to share their own position from the phone they carry on board, for example in a dry bag. That position comes from the paddler, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results are published by the organiser.