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AuSableCanoeMarathon.org
Five-time
defending champs Jeff Kolka, 42, of Grayling, Michigan, and Serge Corbin, 44,
of St-Boniface de Shawinigan, Quebec, paddled their way to an unprecedented
sixth consecutive victory Sunday, July 29 at North America’s richest, toughest
non-stop canoe race: the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon claiming the
$5000 first place prize from a total purse of $50,000, the richest in North
American canoe racing.
The race started with
a bang at 9 P.M. Saturday night in Grayling Michigan. At the sound of the starter’s pistol, 59 two-person teams ran ¼
mile through the streets 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 Canoe Livery 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 15:06:08 (15 hours, 6 minutes,
8 seconds) was the slowest AuSable Marathon winning time since 1978. Serge Corbin, who has now won the AuSable
Marathon 15 times, holds the record Marathon winning time of 13:58:08, set in
1994 with Solomon Carriere of Cumberland House, Saskatchewan.
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.
Kolka & Corbin opened
a small lead of just over one minute by the first timing location – Burton’s
Field – 45 minutes into the race. At
the Mio Dam portage, nearly 5 hours later, their lead had grown to only 2 minutes. From that point to the finish, the powerful
duo gradually but steadily added to their lead, to their final winning margin
of 8 minutes, 58 seconds.
Tony Short, 37, of Indian
River, Michigan, and Denis Berthiaume, 36, of Pre’vost, Quebec, charged from 5th
place at the Loud Dam
timing point, 2/3 of the
way through the 120 race, to take 2nd place finishing in 15:15:46
[15 hours, 15 minutes, 46 seconds].
Third place went to John Sullivan, 31, of Grayling, Michigan, and Louis
Berthiaume, 42, of Berthiville, Quebec, who finished in 15:18;28. Denis Berthiaume and Louis Berthiaume are
brothers. At the 2000 Weyerhaeuser
AuSable River Canoe Marathon, the brothers’ roles were reversed as Louis Berthiaume
finished second with John Sullivan and Denis Bertiaume finished fourth, with
Bill Torongo of Roscommon, Michigan.
Bill Torongo and partner
Steve Lajoie, 25, of Vandreuil-Sur-Le-Lac, Quebec, finished fourth in
15:22:06. Finishing just 48 seconds
later [15:22:54] and rounding out the top five were the father and son team,
Ken Kolonich, 55, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan and son Steve, 29, of Lansing,
Michigan.
Perhaps just as
impressive and amazing as the dominating performance of Serge Corbin, has been
the performance of Al Widing, Sr., 76, of Mio, Michigan, who has competed in
the Marathon over the past six decades.
This year, at age 76, “Amazing Al” and his partner and son, Al Widing,
Jr., 49, of Fenton, Michigan, finished 18th in the field of 59 teams
that started the Marathon, completing the 120 mile course in 16:40:55. This was Al Widing Sr.’s 30th
AuSable River Marathon.
The first mixed team to
cross the finish line was husband and wife Tom Cannon, 45, and Connie Cannon,
40, of East Lansing, Michigan, who completed the race 14th overall
in 16:15:13. The second place mixed team,
finishing 15th overall in 16:19:55, was Lisa Salvini, 37, of
Montgomery, Massachusetts, and Doug Howard, 40, of Townsend, Vermont. Third were Kathy Manizza, 43, of Mansfield,
Connecticut, and Joe Shaw, 46, of Worthington, Massachusetts, finishing 20th
overall in 16:43:47. The only women’s
team entered in the 2001 AuSable Marathon – Carrie Montgomery, 31, of Osdoda,
Michigan, and here sister, Mandy Trudgeon, 20, of Grayling, Michigan, finished
37th overall inj 17:44:45.
Of the 59 teams that
started the 54th Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon, 42 teams
completed the race within the qualifying time of 19 hours. Seventeen teams withdrew from the race due
to illness, injury, damage to the canoe or due to missing mandatory cut-offs at
timing stations.
The
Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon, the middle jewel of prestigious
Triple Crown of Canoe Racing, 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.
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
|
AuSable Place |
AuSable Time |
Canoe # |
Competitor |
Age |
City |
State/Province |
|
1 |
15:06.48 |
16 |
Serge Corbin |
44 |
St. Boniface |
Quebec |
|
1 |
15:06.48 |
16 |
Jeff Kolka |
42 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
2 |
15:15.46 |
81 |
Tony Short |
37 |
Indian River |
Michigan |
|
2 |
15:15.46 |
81 |
Denis Berthiaume |
36 |
Pre'vost |
Quebec |
|
3 |
15:18.28 |
86 |
Louis Berthiaume |
42 |
Berthiville |
Quebec |
|
3 |
15:18.28 |
86 |
John Sullivan |
31 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
4 |
15:22.06 |
14 |
Steve Lajoie |
25 |
Vaudreuil-Sur-Le-Lac |
Quebec |
|
4 |
15:22.06 |
14 |
Bill Torongo |
39 |
Roscommon |
Michigan |
|
5 |
15:22.54 |
23 |
Steve Kolonich |
29 |
Lansing |
Michigan |
|
5 |
15:22.54 |
23 |
Ken Kolonich |
55 |
Eaton Rapids |
Michigan |
|
6 |
15:29.18 |
2 |
Mo Harwood |
22 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
6 |
15:29.18 |
2 |
Jim Harwood |
36 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
7 |
15:44.10 |
52 |
Steven Corlew |
20 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
7 |
15:44.10 |
52 |
Tim Valko |
32 |
Pinckney |
Michigan |
|
8 |
15:49.38 |
82 |
Clark Kent |
41 |
Lapeer |
Michigan |
|
8 |
15:49.38 |
82 |
Rick Joy |
42 |
Silverwood |
Michigan |
|
9 |
16:01.57 |
12 |
Tad Hill |
23 |
East Lansing |
Michigan |
|
9 |
16:01.57 |
12 |
Dave Jensen |
37 |
San Jose |
California |
|
10 |
16:04.43 |
74 |
David Teddy |
27 |
Farwell |
Michigan |
|
10 |
16:04.43 |
74 |
Tim Sheldon |
36 |
Grayling |
Michigan |
|
11 |
16:10.24 |
97 |
Allen Limberg |
43 |
Wausau |
Wisconsin |
|
11 |
16:10.24 |
97 |
John Hugus |
45 |
Wausau |
Wisconsin |
|
12 |
16:12.11 |
40 |
Fred Mills |
47 |
Roscommon |
Michigan |
|
12 |
16:12.11 |
40 |
Ted Smutek |
33 |
Luzerne |
Michigan |
|
13 |
16:14.05 |
39 |
Mark Bialek |
30 |
Oscoda |
Michigan |
|
13 |
16:14.05 |
39 |
Bill DuBois |
43 |
Jackson |
Michigan |
|
14 |
16:15.13 |
10 |
Connie Cannon |
40 |
East Lansing |
Michigan |
|
14 |
16:15.13 |
10 |
Tom Cannon |
45 |
East Lansing |
Michigan |
|
15 |
16:19.55 |
19 |
Doug Howard |