2000 AuSable River
Canoe Marathon
Press & Media Information


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRAYLING, MICHIGAN

JULY 23, 2000               

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

KATE SOUTHARD or STEVE SOUTHARD

RACE OFFICE (517) 348-4425

CELL PHONE W/ VOICEMAIL (517) 370-9843

FAX (517)348-5966

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Up to the minute AuSable Marathon news, entry lists background & historical information and photographs are available for your use and to the public at our website:  http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org

 

MAP GRAPHICS: Can be accessed via the web at: http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/maps98.html

 

PRESS PACKET / PRESS CREDENTIALS AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA COVERING THE MARATHON –

CONTACT THE MARATHON OFFICE [517-348-4425 / 517-370-9843] FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

WEYERHAEUSER  AuSABLE CANOE MARATHON FAVORITES WIN WARM-UP RACE

 

KOLKA-CORBIN PADDLE TO VICTORY IN “SPIKE’S CHALLENGE”

 

Nearly 60 of North America’s top marathon canoe racing teams competed Sunday in the Spike’s Challenge Paddlers Tribute Race, the final warm up before next weekend’s $50,000 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon. The weather was excellent, though water levels were low for the Spike’s Challenge, sponsored by Spike’s Keg O’Nails Tavern in Grayling, widely known as “the meeting place of the north” and co-sponsored by the Grayling Restaurant. 

 

Serge Corbin, 43, of St. Boniface, Quebec, & Jeff Kolka, 41, of Grayling, Michigan, paddled an impressive race en-route to victory, covering the AuSable River Course from Ray’s Canoe Livery in Grayling to McMaster’s Bridge in 2:40:20 [2 hours, 40 minutes, 20 seconds].  Their winning time was nearly 3 minutes slower than last year’s winning pace of 2:37:28.  Kolka & Corbin, the four-time defending AuSable Marathon Champs, will try for an unprecedented fifth consecutive victory at next weekend’s Weyerhaeuser AuSable Canoe Marathon, North America’s toughest, richest non-stop canoe race. 

 

Second at the Spike’s Challenge, more than 4 minutes behind the winners [2:44:26], were Bill Torongo, of Roscommon, Michigan, and Calvin Hassel, of Grand Island Nebraska.  For next weekend’s AuSable Marathon, Torongo will be paired with Denis Berthiaume, of Provost, Quebec, in a bid to upset Kolka & Corbin, the heavily favored returning champs.  This will be the first AuSable Marathon for Berthiaume; Torongo, a savvy AuSable Marathon veteran who has several 2nd place Marathon finishes, is gunning for his first victory in North America’s premier canoe race.

 

Third place [2:46:35] at the Spike’s Challenge went to the 1999 AuSable Marathon third place finishers: Ted Kolka, 34, of Grayling, Michigan, and Tim Valko, 31, of Pinckney, Michigan.  Ted Kolka is Marathon champ/favorite Jeff Kolka’s younger brother.  A father-son team, the 2nd place finishers at last year’s AuSable Marathon, took fourth place.  Ken Kolonich, 54, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, & Steve Kolonich, 28, of East Lansing, Michigan, finished in 2:47:28. Rounding out the top five finishers were two young local paddlers who surprised some race observers with their strong performance.   Mo Harwood, 21, and Erich Podjaske, 18, both of Grayling finished in 2:49:48 edging out by 9 seconds the sixth place finishers, Steve Watson, 28, of Onaway, Michigan and Al Shaver, 33, of Meridale, New York.

 

Nick D’Amour, 16, and Pete Mead, 19, both of Grayling, were first in the Amateur Division, thereby winning the Michigan Canoe Racing Association’s Amateur State Championship.  Kimble Wright, of Tecumseh and Doug Gillin, 41, of Adrian, were the second place amateur finishers; Sean Casey, 21, and Lee Barnett, 19, both of Grayling, took third in the Amateur division.

 

These teams will be among a record field of more than 65 teams battling at the $50,000 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon, which starts in Grayling at 9:00 P.M. this coming Saturday night, July 29; The winners reach the finish line in Oscoda – 120 miles, 50,000 paddle strokes and over 14 hours later – at about 11 A.M. on Sunday, July 30.   The pre-race program gets underway at Ray’s Canoe Livery, on the I-75 Business Loop in Grayling, at 6:00 P.M. Saturday.   Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon competitive action kicks off with the Sprints for Position, on the AuSable at Penrod’s Resort in Grayling on Thursday and Friday afternoon, July 27-28.  The sprints are much like “Indy 500” pole-position qualifying: Each team paddles a short looped course, their lap time determines their starting row position for the spine-tingling LeMans style run to the river that starts the Marathon on Saturday night.

 

The Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is held in conjunction with Grayling's "AuSable River Festival", featuring a host of events throughout Marathon week.  The River Festival recognizes the unique importance of the AuSable River to these northern Michigan communities.   For more information about the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon and festivals, or for information about tourism and recreational opportunities in the AuSable River valley area, contact:

                Grayling Area Visitors Council    (517) 348-2921  (800) 937-8837      http://www.grayling-mi.com

                Oscoda-AuSable Chamber of Commerce   (517) 739-7322   (800) 235-4625       http://www.oscoda.com

 

Extensive information, photographs, course maps and frequently updated race results for the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is\will also available on the world-wide web at:  http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org

Finish

Finish 

Name

Finish Times

1

Jeff Kolka/Serge Corbin

 2:40:20

2

Calvin Hassel/Bill Torongo

 2:44:26

3

Tim Valko/Ted Kolka

 2:46:35

4

Ken Kolonich/Steve Kolonich

 2:47:28

5

Mo Harwood/Erich Podjaske

 2:49:48

6

Al Shaver/Steve Watson

 2:49:57

7

Tim Triebold/Mathew Rimer

 2:50:42

8

Clark Kent/Mike Bradford

 2:52:41

9

Bruce Barton/Solomon Carriere

 2:52:49

10

Dan Klinkhamer/Bill DuBois

 2:55:18

11

Ray Quick/Rick Joy

 2:55:42

12

Tom Cannon/Jacob DuBois

 2:57:02

13

Richard Lajoie/Steve Lajoie

 2:58:30

14

Dragan Olajdzija/Jon Webb

 2:59:41

15

Mark Bialek/Bill Fick

 3:01:27

16

Ed Lazar/Dwight Walker

 3:01:36

17

Kevin Curley/Dan Gary

 3:02:13

18

Joe Shaw/Joe Seifert

 3:03:32

19

Ray Yehl/Connie Cannon

 3:03:57

20

Bob Bradford/John Nemeth

 3:04:02

21

Jason Hall/Dick Plumlee

 3:04:35

22

Dwayne Barnes/Brian Krantz

 3:05:11

23

Joe Pollock/Al Widing Sr.

 3:05:35

24

Nick Lyesiuk/Peter Heed

 3:07:12

25

Mike Packard/Lori Roseboom

 3:07:21

26

Brad Wilson/Colin Hunter

 3:08:02

27

Tom Mills/Fred Mills

 3:08:29

28

Jim Corlew/Steve Corlew

 3:09:42

29

Chuck Hewitt/Bernie Tuszynski

 3:10:52

30

Mark Rimer/Tom Trudgeon

 3:11:31

31

Ted Smutek/Kathy Manizza

 3:12:04

32

Amy Solak/Frank Smutek

 3:12:38

33

Mike Hartman/Scott VanDeVen

 3:13:28

34

Dave Sabin/Dave Teddy

 3:14:13

35

Brenda Carlson/Charlie Lannen

 3:14:32

36

Abby Kingman/Lisa Salvini

 3:15:24

37

Jeff DeFeo/Lori Martin

 3:15:49

38

Karen Levitt/Lynne Witte

 3:16:04

39

LeRoy LeVigne/Jerry Killingbeck

 3:16:21

40

Steve Seager/John Lucey

 3:16:41

41

Chad Swander/Connie Swander

 3:17:36

42

Doug Dalton/Mike Garon

 3:20:32

43

Bob Smith/Jason Snell

 3:23:42

44

Don Brooks/Todd VanDeVen

 3:25:58

45

Tricia Heed/Tom Warner

 3:26:13

46

Doug Grosso/Al Duckworth

 3:35:22

47

Ray Wonders/Rick Sika

 3:46:03

48

Andy Hague/P.C.Randolph

 3:51:34

49

Sara Cockrell / Kenny Larkin

 3:52:07

 

 

 

 

Amateur Division

 

1

Nick D'Amour/Pete Mead

 3:07:49

2

Kimble Wright/Doug Gillin

 3:11:06

3

Sean  Casey/Lee Barnett

 3:15:44

4

Ray Bauer/Tom Bauer

 3:24:27

5

Robert Stockton III / Matt Smith

 3:25:09

6

Alfred Borchers/Kevin Jansen

 3:25:15

7

Rusty Argue/Bob Donaldson

 3:28:41

8

Alfred Borchers/ Brian Borchers

Dropped

 

View course map - See list of 2000 participants - Return to AuSable Canoe Marathon home page.

Contact AuSable River Canoe Marathon at 517-348-4425.

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