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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRAYLING, MICHIGAN * JULY 22, 2001              

 

 

 

 

DEFENDING WEYERHAEUSER  AuSABLE RIVER CANOE MARATHON CHAMP JEFF KOLKA

 

WINS  FINAL WARM-UP RACE BEFORE THE MARATHON -  “THE SPIKE’S CHALLENGE”

 

 

Fifty-eight  of North America’s top marathon canoe racing teams competed Sunday in the Spike’s Challenge Race, the final warm up before next weekend’s $50,000 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon. Weather conditions were hot and humid and 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.

 

Five-time defending AuSable Marathon Champ Jeff Kolka, 42, of Grayling, competed without his regular partner and defending Marathon Co-Champ, Serge Corbin, 44, of St. Boniface, Quebec, but the result was the same as it has been in recent years on the AuSable River:  “Jeff Kolka Wins!”  Kolka and Calvin Hassel, 37, of Grand Island, Nebraska, 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 2:44:09 [2 hours, 44 minutes, 9 seconds].  Their winning time was nearly 4 minutes slower than last year’s winning pace of 2:40:20. 

 

Corbin, the top marathon canoe racer in North America for more than 20 years, competed in a race in his native Quebec this weekend and is due to arrive in Grayling on Monday.  Corbin and Kolka, the five-time defending AuSable Marathon Champs, will try for an unprecedented sixth 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 Race and just 1 minute, 38 seconds behind the winners [2:45:47], were cousins Jim Harwood, 36, and  Mo Harwood, 22, of Grayling.  Jim Harwood won the AuSable Marathon in 1995 with Patrick Lynch of Quebec.  Harwood & Harwood have been picked to be one of the teams vying for a top-five finish the “big dance” – the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon – and made a strong statement that they will in fact be among the top teams and a force to be reckoned with at The Marathon by their showing at the Spike’s Challenge.

Third place [2:46:30] went to a team not entered in next weekend’s AuSable Marathon, Tim Triebold,  48, of Spring Harbor, Michigan and Jacob DuBois, 15, of Jackson, Michigan.  Fourth [2:47:04] was a father & son team who have been consistent top-five finishers at the AuSable Marathon, Ken Kolonich, 55, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan and Steve Kolonich, 29, of Lansing, Michigan.  Rounding out the top five, in 2:48:43 was another team expected to be among the leaders at the upcoming Weyerhaeuser AuSable Marathon, Tim Valko, 32, of Pinckney, Michigan and Steve Corlew, 20, of Grayling. 

Bill Torongo, 39, of Roscommon, Michigan and Steve Lajoie [pron = “la-zha-wah”], 25, of Vandreuil-Sur-Le-Lac, Quebec, finished sixth in 2:49:11.  The pair held second place throughout much of Sunday’s race but Lajoie suffered severe muschle cramping  about ¾ of the way through the race dropping the pair out of the top five.  Just 5:02 [5 minutes, 2 seconds] separated the top six finishers, an indication of how competitive the field will be for next weekend’s Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon.

 

Two 17-year olds, Alfred Borchers, of Grayling and Bob Stockton, of Roscommon, were first in the Amateur Division [3:24:47], thereby winning the Michigan Canoe Racing Association’s Amateur State Championship.  The top Masters Division finishers were Clark Kent, 41, of Lapeer, Michigan, and Rick Joy, 42, of Silverwood, Michigan.  First-place Seniors Division finishers were Peter Heed, 51, of Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and Jim Bauer, 56, of Spokane, Washington.  The top Mixed team was the husband and wife duo from East Lansing, Tom Cannon, 45, and Connie Cannon, 40.

 

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 28; The winners reach the finish line in Oscoda – 120 miles, 50,000 paddle strokes and over 14 hours later – between 11 A.M. and noon on Sunday, July 29.   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 26-27.  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" and Oscoda’s “AuSable River Days” featuring a host of events throughout Marathon week.  The celebrations 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

 

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