A Fish Hoek mother of two will be among throngs of canoeists tackling the gruelling Men's Health Breede River Canoe Marathon between Robertson and Swellendam.
The epic race starts on Saturday with a 36km first stage from McGregor Bridge in Robertson to Bonnivale. The second stage is a 38km paddle from Drew Bridge to Die Stroom near Swellendam.
Tatum Seiler is a Shape magazine diarist after she won a readers' competition motivating her fitness goal for 2007.
Her winning goal is to take part in the 120km Dusi Canoe Marathon next year. She says paddling in the Dusi would be in tribute to her father, Leigh Anderson, who took part in it at age 33.
"I want to do it as a tribute to my dad. It is 10 years since he died, on August 31, 1997," said Seiler.
"As an eight-year-old I used to watch my dad canoe. He did the Dusi when he was 33 and I'll be doing it at 33. I always hoped that I could do it with him one day. I never got to do it."
Seiler says before she started training in February, she was "just a mom who did not even go to the gym".
"I started training in February, going to the gym for five to six days a week," she said.
In March she started going into the water and learning to get in and out of a canoe. "When you are starting you learn how to sit in a canoe without a seat, getting the balance and stability. After about four weeks they put the seat back."
Once Seiler got the balance, she started to learn to get a stroke and that took a further three months.
"You need so many different muscles... that you almost never used all your life."
When winter rains and dark mornings hit, it didn't mean the end of training.
Seiler had to succeed in a time-trial to earn her river proficiency certificate - sort of a licence to enter races.
"You have to complete the time trial over a distance of 10km in under 70 minutes. When I started doing time trials in June, I would reach the 10km mark in about 90 minutes. Now I do it in about 58 minutes.
"They check whether you can reverse, paddle, capsize and you also learn to navigate through weirs before you get the basic proficiency," she says.
Seiler earned her river proficiency at the beginning of this month.
As a novice in the Breede River Marathon, she is rated in the C-class.
"Rivers are rated. You have A to C ratings, with A-rated being the most difficult and technical routes and C the simpler, flatter ones."
The Breede River is A-rated, but this is where a partnership with veteran Ralph "Tulips" Teulings is helpful.
Novice paddlers have to canoe with an experienced paddler in such conditions. "And Ralph is a star," says Seiler. "You have to be able to read the river and this is where an experienced paddler comes in.
"Ralph is so laid back, with no sense of urgency. He does not panic and helps you relax."
Seiler and Teulings have paddled the Breede River twice this month during the pre-qualifications. Participants have to take part in at least two of the three pre-qualification races.
"We did the 38km route from Alfies to Robertson in three hours on August 9 and Drew Bridge to Swellendam on August 18.
"The first one had lots of flat stretches and a small weir and was not technical, but we took a wrong channel and got stuck."
Seiler is a mother of two children, aged four and eight. She says without her family's support this challenge would not be possible and describes her husband, Glenn, as "awesome".
But she also confesses to being nervous about a lot of things ahead of this weekend's race. "I've never capsized in a boat and had to swim yet. I'm nervous about swimming when you fall out.
"I'm also nervous about portaging." The Breede River marathon has a compulsory 8km portage.
Seiler, who works in the IT industry, has been training on a vlei in Lakeside and is coached by multiple Dusi winner Martin Dreyer. "My other coach is Sean Rice, an 18-year-old matric pupil. He is fantastic. He helps me a lot when Martin is not there," she said.
Other well-known canoeists taking part are Dreyer, Abbey Miedema, upcountry Bartho brothers Daryl and Brett, and last year's winner Len Jenkins. Actress Sandra Prinsloo and former Springbok rugby captain Corne Krige are also among the entrants.