FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GRAYLING,
MICHIGAN
JULY 30, 2000
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT:
CELL PHONE
W/VOICE MAIIL (517) 370-9843
The race started with a bang at 9 P.M. Saturday
night in Grayling Michigan. At the
sound of the starter’s pistol, a record field of 68 two-person teams ran ¼ mile
through the streets of this small northern Michigan town to the AuSable River
for the start of this 120 mile, 14 to 19 hour non-stop race. Thousands of fans lining the streets and the
riverbank at Ray’s Canoeing and The Fly Factory gave the teams a rousing
send-off on this epic non-stop contest through the night and over 50,000 paddle
strokes to the finish line in Oscoda, on the shores of Lake Huron.
Relatively low water conditions slowed the pace of
this year’s race. Kolka and Corbin’s
elapsed time of 14:48:00 (14 hours, 48 minutes, 0 seconds) was the slowest
AuSable Marathon winning time since 1991 and one of two slowest winning times
in the last 20 y ears. The champs were
the only team to finish this year’s race in less than 15 hours; finishing the
Marathon in less than 15 hours has long been considered by race observers to be
a benchmark of a ‘fast’ race. Serge
Corbin, who has now won the AuSable Marathon 14 times, also holds the record
Marathon winning time of 13:58:08, set in 1994 with Solomon Carriere of
Cumberland House, Saskatchewan.
The tough Kolka-Corbin
duo was tagged as heavy pre-race favorites to repeat as champs this year. However, they started the run to the river
at the end of the second row – in the 10th position – as a result of
a 30 second penalty for improperly completing a buoy turn during the Sprints
for Position. It was a rare error for
the pair. While understandably
frustrated by the imposition of the penalty, Kolka & Corbin vowed to try to
overcome the penalty to retain their AuSable Marathon title. They succeeded, taking the lead early during
the race and never relinquishing it, eventually building their lead to a 14:32
[14 minute, 32 second) margin of victory.
Corbin is widely
recognized as the preeminent marathon canoe racer in North America, winning 90%
of the major canoe races he has entered over the past 20 years or more. Corbin’s partner, Jeff Kolka, commented
that, “Lately Tiger Woods has received a lot of attention for ‘clearly being
the dominant golf player’ in the world.
What Serge Corbin has already accomplished and continues to achieve over
a much longer period of time sets a standard that is unequaled by anyone in any
other sport..”
Just as impressive and
amazing has been the performance of Al Widing, Sr., of Mio, Michigan, who has
competed in the Marathon over the past six decades. This year, at age 75, “Amazing Al” and his partner, Joe Pollock,
41, of Edmore, Michigan, paddled the 120-mile course in 16:47:20. In 1999, with more favorable river
conditions, Al and his partner Bob Bradford, of Lapeer, Michigan, completed Widing’s
fastest Marathon ever at 15:21:22.
Finishing second in the
Marathon – the best Weyerhaeuser AuSable Marathon finish for both paddlers –
were John Sullivan, 30, of Roscommon, Michigan, and Louis Berthiaume, 41, of
Berthiville, Quebec. The pair pulled
away from a small pack of canoes in the twisting, upper part of the AuSable
River course, but couldn’t catch Kolka & Corbin, completing the race in
15:02:32. Third were last year’s second
place finishers, Ken Kolonich, 54, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan and his son Steve
Kolonich, 28, of Lansing, Michigan.
During Saturday night’s frenzied LeMans-style running start of the
Marathon, the elder Kolonich pulled a hamstring muscle and they were the 16th
team to the river despite a front-row starting position for the run. During the first few hours of the race, they
steadily worked their way through the pack of canoes that had reached the river
ahead of them.
The father-son team of
Ken Kolonich, 54, Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and Steve Kolonich, 28, Lansing,
finished in third place in 15:07:10. Local favorite Bill Torongo, 38,
Roscommon, Michigan, and his partner, Denis Berthiaume, Provost, Quebec,
overcame an early obstacle to finish fourth in 15:18:36. Early on in the race,
Torongo’s foot brace, an essential component to balancing the narrow racing canoe,
broke and had to be replaced. Finishing less than a minute behind in fifth
place were Bruce Barton, 43, Homer, Michigan, and Solomon Carriere, 43,
Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, in 15:19:30.
In the Women’s division,
long-time marathon paddler Lynne Witte, 46, Mt. Clemens, and partner Karen
Levitt, 32, Keene, New Hampshire, finished first in their division in 17:39:46,
and 41st overall. Their competition, Abby Kingman, 38, Goshen,
Massachusetts, and Lisa Salvini, 36, Montgomery, Massachusetts, finished second
for the women in 18:08:41, and 46th overall.
Racing in her first
AuSable Marathon, Lori Roseboom and partner Mike Packard took top honors in the
Mixed division, finishing in 16:14:57. Roseboom, 34, Mt. Vision, New York,
looked energized as she walked up the rocky boat ramp following the race with
Packard, 36, of Otego, New York. They finished 18th overall, and were closely followed by Ted
Smutek, 32, Luzerne, Michigan, and Kathy Manizza, 42, Mansfield, Connecticut,
who finished 22nd overall and second in the Mixed in 16:26:50.
The first place amateur
division finishers were Kimball Wright, of Tecumseh, Michigan and Douglas
Gillin, 41, of Adrian, Michigan, who completed the Marathon in 17:17:52, good
for 36th position overall.
Finishing second in the amateur division and 47th overall
were a pair of young men from Roscommon, Matt Smith, 23, and Robert Stockton
II, 16. Two out of six amateur teams
that started the Marathon completed the race.
Overall in the Marathon,
51 teams officially completed the race of the 68 teams that started on Saturday
night. Reaching the finish line with
just 4 ½ minutes left in qualifying time was a team from Traverse City,
Michigan, Walter Meeker, 45, and his partner Peter Sneed, 41. Of the 17 teams that did not finish the
Marathon, six did not meet established time cut-off times and the others
withdrew due to illness or injury.
The
Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is considered to be one of North
America’s most extreme endurance events.
The two-person teams must paddle 120 miles non-stop through darkness,
inclement weather, and portage six hydroelectric dams while battling sheer
mental and physical torture of up to 19 hours paddling at 50 to 80 paddle
strokes per minute.
This year’s race saw more
competitors and spectators than ever before.
Volunteers are responsible for both the organizing and staging of the
race, as well as serving on support teams for each of the paddlers entered. Marathon volunteer organizing committee
members credit the continued strong support by the primary sponsor,
Weyerhaeuser’s Grayling Structurwood Mill, with facilitating the AuSable River
Marathon’s continued growth and international recognition.
For a number of years, Subaru has been a strong
supporter of the AuSable River Canoe Marathon and of paddlesports in the United
States. The American Canoe Association
(ACA) sanctions the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon. The
ACA’s mission is to promote canoeing, kayaking and other paddle sports as safe
and enjoyable lifetime recreational activities, while working to protect and
preserve the recreational waterways on which those activities depend. For more information about ACA, contact the
national office at: American Canoe Association; 7432 Alban Station Blvd, Suite B-226; Springfield, VA 22150
phone: (703) 451-0141 www.acanet.org
Extensive information including complete race results,
photographs and entry information for the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe
Marathon is available on the at: http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org
|
Place |
Time |
Canoe # |
Competitor |
Age |
City |
State/Province |
|
|
1 |
14:48:00 |
16 |
Jeff Kolka |
41 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
Masters 1st |
|
1 |
14:48:00 |
16 |
Serge Corbin |
43 |
St. Boniface |
Quebec |
Masters 1st |
|
2 |
15:02:32 |
86 |
John Sullivan |
30 |
Roscommon |
Michigan |
|
|
2 |
15:02:32 |
86 |
Louis Berthiaume |
41 |
Berthiville |
Quebec |
|
|
3 |
15:07:10 |
23 |
Ken Kolonich |
54 |
Eaton Rapids |
Michigan |
|
|
3 |
15:07:10 |
23 |
Steve Kolonich |
28 |
Lansing |
Michigan |
|
|
4 |
15:18:36 |
14 |
Bill Torongo |
38 |
Roscommon |
Michigan |
|
|
4 |
15:18:36 |
14 |
Denis Berthiaume |
35 |
Pre'vost |
Quebec |
|
|
5 |
15:19:30 |
4 |
Bruce Barton |
43 |
Homer |
Michigan |
Masters 2nd |
|
5 |
15:19:30 |
4 |
Solomon Carriere' |
43 |
Cumberland House |
Saskatchewan |
Masters 2nd |
|
6 |
15:22:15 |
11 |
Rick Joy |
41 |
Silverwood |
Michigan |
|
|
6 |
15:22:15 |
11 |
Dave Jensen |
36 |
San Jose |
California |
|
|
7 |
15:31:47 |
66 |
Steve Watson |
28 |
Onaway |
Michigan |
|
|
7 |
15:31:47 |
66 |
Al Shaver |
33 |
Meridale |
New York |
|
|
8 |
15:38:06 |
52 |
Ted Kolka |
34 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
|
8 |
15:38:06 |
52 |
Tim Valko |
31 |
Pinckney |
Michigan |
|
|
9 |
15:39:57 |
82 |
Clark Kent |
40 |
Lapeer |
Michigan |
|
|
9 |
15:39:57 |
82 |
Mike Bradford |
35 |
Lapeer |
Michigan |
|
|
10 |
15:43:10 |
3 |
Erich Podjaske |
18 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
|
10 |
15:43:10 |
3 |
Mo Harwood |
21 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
|
11 |
15:48:47 |
39 |
Bill DuBois |
42 |
Jackson |
Michigan |
Masters 3rd |
|
11 |
15:48:47 |
39 |
Daniel Klinkhamer |
49 |
Northville |
Michigan |
Masters 3rd |
|
12 |
15:53:40 |
97 |
Allen Limberg |
42 |
Wausau |
Wisconsin |
|
|
12 |
15:53:40 |
97 |
John Hugus |
44 |
Wausau |
Wisconsin |
|
|
13 |
15:55:32 |
45 |
Serge Rouleau |
54 |
Grandes-piles |
Quebec |
|
|
13 |
15:55:32 |
45 |
Rock Belanger |
45 |
Mont-Laurier |
Quebec |
|
|
14 |
16:00:12 |
44 |
Dwight Walker |
46 |
Richland |
Michigan |
|
|
14 |
16:00:12 |
44 |
Ed Lazar |
43 |
Grosse Pointe Woods |
Michigan |
|
|
15 |
16:01:55 |
22 |
Fritz Hansen |
59 |
Union Grove |
Wisconsin |
|
|
15 |
16:01:55 |
22 |
Kai Hansen |
38 |
Bellville |
Wisconsin |
|
|
16 |
16:04:24 |
57 |
Dragan Olajdzija |
40 |
Toronto |
Ontario |
|
|
16 |
16:04:24 |
57 |
Jon Webb |
40 |
Hubbard Lake |
Michigan |
|
|
17 |
16:10:38 |
32 |
Dan Gary |
42 |
Oscoda |
Michigan |
|
|
17 |
16:10:38 |
32 |
Kevin Curley |
42 |
Oscoda |
Michigan |
|
|
18 |
16:14:57 |
26 |
Lori Roseboom |
34 |
Mt. Vision |
New York |
Mixed 1st |
|
18 |
16:14:57 |
26 |
Mike Packard |
36 |
Otego |
New York |
Mixed 1st |
|
19 |