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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 7/20/04 Grayling, Michigan

 

 

 

$50,000 WEYERHAEUSER AuSABLE RIVER CANOE MARATHON

 

RACING ACTION GETS UNDERWAY WITH “TIME TRIALS” THURSDAY & FRIDAY

 

NORTH AMERICA’S TOUGHEST, RICHEST CANOE RACES STARTS @ 9 PM SATURDAY NIGHT

 

 

The excitement is building throughout Northern Michigan as the clock ticks toward Saturday night’s start of North America's richest, toughest non-stop marathon canoe race - the $50,000 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon. 

 

An estimated 50,000 fans and many of the top marathon canoe racing teams from throughout North America, have already arrived or are en-route to northern Michigan's fabled AuSable River Valley for the 57th running of this granddaddy of ultra-endurance events.  The AuSable River, long recognized as one of North America’s finest recreational canoeing and trout fishing streams, will be the scene of intense competition throughout the balance of “Marathon week”.

 

At the sound of the starter’s pistol at 9:00 P.M. Saturday night, July 26, more than 60 two-person teams will sprint with their canoes several blocks through the streets of the Grayling to the AuSable River in front of Ray’s Canoe Livery, beginning a race has long been recognized as one of North America’s most grueling ultra-endurance events.  

 

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 LeMans start 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.  

 

Sixty-three [63] two-person teams from 15 U.S. states and Canadian provinces plus the island-nation of Belize are registered to participate in the Marathon.  The darkness, any inclement weather, portaging six hydroelectric dams and the sheer torture of up to 19 hours of non-stop paddling at 50 to 80 paddle strokes per minute will all combine to play on the contestants' physical and mental capabilities.

 

River levels are higher this year than for the past three Marathons, yet 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, 45, a 16-time AuSable winner, set the Marathon record time of 13:58:08 (13 hours, 58 minutes, 8 seconds) with Saskatchewan’s Solomon Carriere in 1994. 

 

On Thursday and Friday the 65 two-person teams entered in the Marathon compete in the Scott McNamara Ford Time Trials.   Much like NASCAR qualifying, the teams sprint a short looped course to determine their starting row position for the three-block run with their canoes to the river for Saturday’s start of the 57th Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon.  The team with the quickest sprint time is awarded the Pole Position in the line-up for Saturday’s running start.  The Sprints for position are staged on the river at Penrod’s Resort [on Maple Street] in Grayling; Thursday 5-8PM, Friday 2-6 PM.

 

Defending eight-time Marathon Champs, Jeff Kolka, 45, of Grayling, Michigan, and Serge Corbin, 47, of St. Boniface, Quebec, will be gunning for an unprecedented ninth consecutive victory at the AuSable Marathon, the middle jewel of the prestigious Triple Crown of Canoe Racing.  The pair won the Triple Crown of Canoe Racing championship in the past year four years and are gunning for a fifth consecutive Triple Crown Championship in 2004.  New York’s General Clinton Canoe Regatta, and Quebec’s La Classique de Canots complete the three-race championship. 

 

Kolka-Corbin have already won the first leg of the 2004 Triple Crown, taking a 1 minute, 43 second victory [elapsed time 7 hours, 8 minutes, 54 seconds] over Andy Triebold of Sping Arbor, Michigan, and Steve Lajoie, of Mirabel, Quebec, at the General Clinton Canoe Regatta [http://www.canoeregatta.org/] on Memorial Day.  The final leg of the Triple Crown, Quebec’s La Classique de Canots [http://www.classiquedecanots.qc.ca], is a 3-day, 3-stage race covering over 100 miles from La Tuque to Trois Riviere over September’s Labor Day weekend.

 

Triebold and Lajoie have been in hot pursuit of the Champs, finishing second to Corbin & Kolka by less than two minutes at each of the last three consecutive Triple Crown races including the 2004 running of New York’s General Clinton Canoe Regatta, 2003’s season finale - Quebec’s La Classique de Canots - and also the 2003 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon. 

 

The $50,000 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon starts with the teams making a spine-tingling LeMans-style run several blocks through the streets of Grayling to the river at Ray's Canoeing at 9:00 P.M., Saturday, July 24.  The pre-race program begins at 5:30 P.M. at Ray’s. Thousands of fans will view all or part of the race, driving to public access sites, bridges, dam portages and other viewing locations along the AuSable River race course to cheer on the teams through Saturday night and on to the finish line in Oscoda between 11 A.M. and noon on Sunday, July 27.

 

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 Festivals 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 are available on the world-wide web at:  http://www.AuSableCanoeMarathon.org

WEYERHAEUSER AUSABLE RIVER CANOE MARATHON
2004 FINAL ENTRY LIST
For entry list update and other race information, visit our website at www.ausablecanoemarathon.org
	Canoe #	Competitor	Age	City	State/Province
	0	Robert Bradford	61	Lapeer	Michigan
	0	David Phelps	17	Lapeer	Michigan
	1	Andrew Triebold	28	Spring Arbor	Michigan
	1	Steve Lajoie	28	Mirabel	Quebec
	2	Jim Harwood	39	Grayling	Michigan
	2	Denis Berthiaume	39	Pre'vost	Quebec
	3	Mo Harwood	25	Grayling	Michigan
	3	Matthew Rimer	20	Horton	Michigan
	5	Jeff Janish	41	Whittemore	Michigan
	5	Theresa Janish	15	Whittemore	Michigan
	6	Alan DuBois	70	Cottage Grove	Minnesota
	6	Gareth Stevens	52	Hubertus	Wisconson
	7	Nicholas Bauer	44	Spokane	Washington
	7	Brad Bauer	30	Seattle	Washington
	8	Nick D'Amour	20	Grayling	Michigan
	8	Dave Jensen	40	San Jose	California
	9	Al Widing Sr.	79	Mio	Michigan
	9	Jerry Killingbeck	35	East Tawas	Michigan
	10	Amy Solak	39	Traverse City	Michigan
	10	Ted Smutek	36	Luzerne	Michigan
	11	Rick Joy	45	Silverwood	Michigan
	11	Louis Berthiaume	45	Berthierville	Quebec
	12