Podium finish for Pambula's Gavin Granger in Clarence 100 river paddle competition

Held over three days from October 6 to 8, the Clarence 100 was a 106km Marathon River Paddle made up of two 40km stages and a 26km stage.

Using the GPS in his watch, Granger intermittently tracked his pace in 500 metre splits to ensure he was keeping momentum.

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He adjusted his effort accordingly, and said the key was core strength rather than just using arms.

"[It's] not actually rowing, but paddling," Granger said.

"At the start you'd be reaching about 15 kilometres per hour, then once you settle in to a rhythm, which is after the first kilometre, for the other 39 kilometres I personally look for around the 11 kilometres [per hour] mark.

"I've been involved with the Pambula Surf Club for years and I've always enjoyed surf ski.

"I used to race in the surf carnivals, and as I've aged I've slowed up a bit and gone more towards long distance than sprint racing," the third placegetter said.

While the Clarence River was calm, unlike the swells of Pambula, Merimbula, Tathra, and Eden, where Granger often trains, he said there were still obstacles competitors needed to negotiate.

"The Clarence River basically faces every direction as you go down the river.

"The first five kilometres you're facing east, then you'll face south, then you'll face north, so if you get a bit of a headwind, that plays a big part in your paddling and where you paddle on the river," Granger said.

"You try to hug a bank where you get a bit of protection, and you've also got sandbars and rocks you've got to contend with as well.

"On the last day I got stuck twice, got off and ran 20 to 30 metres to get back in the channel, and then jumped back on and kept paddling.

"If you're training at home you learn and work out where the banks are, but when you're paddling in a river you've never been in before, it's quite difficult."

The third placegetter of the Clarence 100 was humble in hearing of his place on the podium, and said he doesn't care on his ranking since he competes for fitness.

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In 2012, Granger was diagnosed with heart disease and had a couple of stents put in.

Since the scare he said he had been aware of how important it was to keep healthy and look after his body.

"I knew my body wasn't right because I was actually training for an event and I was able to identify something wasn't right, and I actually went to the doctor prior to having a heart attack," he said.

"I think the importance of just continuing to exercise, especially for us old blokes, [is top priority].

"I'm a bit of a goal setter, I set goals every year, pick a couple of events and then just make it happen."

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