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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Grayling, Michigan * June 30, 2003

 

 

Over 50,000 Fans Expected For North America’s Toughest, Richest Canoe Race

 

Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon Is Middle Jewel of Triple Crown of Canoe Racing

 

 

The Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is North America’s richest, toughest canoe race.  This race is not for the timid.  “THE MARATHON”, as it is has long been referred to by ardent fans and contestants,  has long been recognized as one of the most grueling endurance events in North America – the pace set and maintained by the competitors is beyond the comprehension of many – 55 to 80 paddle strokes per minute throughout the 14 to 19 hours it takes to reach the finish. 

 

More than 50,000 spectators converge on northern Michigan’s AuSable River Valley to view some or all of this epic canoe racing event.  The Marathon’s famous frenzied LeMans-style running start by the two-person teams with their canoes to the river kicks off a race of fourteen to nineteen hours & 120 miles non-stop through the night from Grayling, in north-central Michigan, to Oscoda, on the shores of Lake Huron, in north-east Michigan.  

 

Water levels on the AuSable are relatively low this summer and there seems to be little chance that the Marathon’s all-time record is in jeopardy of being broken this year.  Quebec’s Serge Corbin, 46, a 16-time AuSable Marathon winner, set the  record time of 13:58:08 (13 hours, 58 minutes, 8 seconds) with Saskatchewan’s Solomon Carriere in 1994. 

 

Corbin is teamed again this year with a local favorite, Jeff Kolka, 44, of Grayling, Michigan, as the pair attempts an unbelievable and unprecedented eighth consecutive victory on the tough AuSable course.   Not only have the powerful Kolka-Corbin duo been on a roll at the Weyerhaeuser AuSable Marathon, the powerful Kolka-Corbin duo have also taken the Triple Crown of Canoe Racing championship each of the past eight years.

 

The Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is the middle jewel of canoe racing’s Triple Crown.  New York’s General Clinton Canoe Regatta, and Quebec’s La Classique de Canots complete the three-race championship.  Kolka-Corbin won the first leg of the 2003 Triple Crown on Memorial Day, the 70-mile General Clinton race from Cooperstown to Bainbridge on New York’s Susquehanna River, taking a 4 minute, 54 second victory [elapsed time 7 hours, 13 minutes, 13 seconds] Al Rudquist, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and his partner Mike Vincent, of Regina, Saskatchewan.  The final leg of the Triple Crown, Quebec’s La Classique, is a 3-day, 3-stage race covering over 100 miles from La Tuque to Trois Riviere over September’s Labor Day weekend.

 

Quebec’s Corbin has won or shared [with his partner] the Triple Crown of Canoe Racing championship every year since its inception 1992.  He has clearly been the preeminent marathon canoe racer in North America for more than 25 years.  His record is astounding, rising above the level achieved by dominant athletes in other sports.  During his 24 years in marathon canoe racing, with a variety of partners, Serge Corbin has won 90% of the major canoe races he has entered!

 

At the sound of the starter’s pistol at 9:00 P.M. Saturday night, July 26, more than 60 two-person teams will run with their canoes several blocks through the streets of the Grayling to the AuSable River in front of Ray’s Canoeing, beginning North America’s toughest, richest non-stop canoe race.   Excitement is at a fevered pitch among the participants and fans alike during the frenzied start of the race, which has been described as the most intense two minutes in competitive sports. 

 

“The running start of the race, with thousands of fans lining the riverbanks and cheering, really gets your adrenaline pumping; it’s a real charge!  But, endurance and pacing always win in the end,” commented race committee co-chair Tim Zigila.  “Those folks that ‘jackrabbit’ and go hard early in the race burn out.  They don’t have what it takes to reach Oscoda and the finish line,” he continued.  While the race is certainly daunting to the competitors, these comments were made about AuSable Marathon spectators and fans.

 

More than 50,000 fans will cheer on the gritty Marathon canoe racing competitors at various points throughout the race.  The heartiest fans drive the full length of the AuSable River course from Grayling to Oscoda, moving from one viewing location to the next at public landings, bridges and hydroelectric dam portages to cheer on their favorite teams.

 

Staged since 1947, the AuSable Marathon was an ultra-endurance event long before ultra-endurance became “cool.”  The two-person teams must portage six hydroelectric dams plus battle the darkness, the river’s natural obstructions, the weather and the sheer exhaustion brought on by paddling their lightweight hi-tech kevlar or carbon-fiber canoes at a torrid pace of 55 to 80 strokes per minute non-stop throughout the 14 to 19 hour race.  They receive no assistance except food, drink and, perhaps, a dry shirt passed to them by their “feeders” or “bankrunners” at points along the course.

 

Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon competitive action kicks off with the Sprints for Position at Penrods Resort in Grayling on Thursday and Friday afternoon, July 24-25.  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 recognize 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    (989) 348-2921  (800) 937-8837      http://www.grayling-mi.com

            Oscoda-AuSable Chamber of Commerce   (989) 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:  www.AuSableCanoeMarathon.org

 

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