Paddling teams sign up to
compete in 2005 AuSable River Canoe Marathon
51 canoe racing duos have
registered for this year’s race as of Wednesday, July 13
With about two weeks left before the start of the 2005
Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon, 51 paddling teams have signed on for
the 120-mile, 15-checkpoint race from Grayling to Oscoda. The race – the 58th
in the event’s history – will begin on Saturday, July 30, at 9 p.m. at Ray’s
Canoe Livery in downtown Grayling.
Two of the four registration cutoff points for the 2005
Marathon have passed. June 17 was the first cutoff this year and Friday, July
1, was the second cutoff. The third cutoff is Friday, July 22, and the final
cutoff is Monday, July 25, at noon.
The overall number of teams is down a little bit from last
year – 64 duos started the 2004 AuSable Marathon, but Marathon insiders are
expecting a competitive race in 2005.
“We’re looking for a great event, as usual,” said Tim
Zigila, AuSable River Canoe Marathon Committee Co-Chair. “It should be an
interesting race based on the General Clinton results. Serge (Corbin) and Jeff
(Kolka) squeezed out a victory over (Matt) Rimer and (Andrew) Triebold by a
couple of seconds.”
The Kolka-Corbin team, which had its consecutive AuSable
Marathon victory streak ended at eight last year by Triebold and Steve Lajoie,
edged Triebold and Rimer by two seconds – 8:05:42 to 8:05:44 – in the 2005
General Clinton Canoe Regatta, a 70-mile race held in New York during Memorial
Day weekend.
The General Clinton Canoe Regatta is the first leg of the
Triple Crown of Canoe Racing, the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is
the second, and La Classique de Canots de la Mauricie – a three-stage race
conducted during Labor Day weekend on Quebec’s St. Maurice River – is the
third.
The Kolka-Corbin and Triebold-Rimer teams are two of the
duos that have signed up for the 2005 AuSable Marathon so far. Several other
paddlers signed up for this year’s race have extensive
marathon experience as well. “Rick Joy and Bill Torongo should be fun to watch
– a couple long-time paddlers finally hooking up. Rick is second on the list
for longevity behind Al Widing,” Zigila said.
Joy has paddled in 28 AuSable Marathons and Torongo has been
in 21. Joy finished 3rd in last year’s Marathon with Louis Berthiaume.
Al Widing Sr., 80, of Mio, is racing with Robert Bradford,
62, of Lapeer. The duo has 51 AuSable Marathons to its credit – 35 for Widing
and 16 for Bradford – and a combined age of 142.
The youngest paddler registered for this year’s Marathon is
Chris Hewitt, 15, of Bay City, who is racing with his father, Chuck Hewitt.
This year’s field of 51 includes eight mixed teams, one
amateur team, and one women’s team.
Paddling teams registered for the 2005 Weyerhaeuser AuSable
River Canoe Marathon as of Wednesday, July 13, include (registration order
number, canoe number, paddler, paddler):
01 01 Matthew Rimer Andrew
Triebold
02 14 Rick Joy Bill
Torongo
03 36 Michael Garon Bill
DuBois
04 94 Frank Smutek Rejean
Huard
05 16 Jeff Kolka Serge Corbin
06 09 Al Widing, Sr. Robert
Bradford
07 54 Nate Winkler Lynne
Witte
08 42 Jon Thompson Brian
Royce
09 73 Greg Nelson Al
Duckworth
10 87 Rodney Halstead Ryan
Halstead
11 37 Kate Ellis Todd
Ellison
12 83 Ray Bauer Tom
Ackemeyer
13 06 Don Brooks Mitch
McMillan
14 63 Sean Casey Matt
Meersman
15 44 Dwight Walker Ed
Lazar
16 45 Chris Scully Rodney Matthews
17 62 Ray Trudgeon Tom
Trudgeon
18 61 Chuck Hewett Chris
Hewitt
19 136A Mark Noorman Troy
Winters
20 47 Stephanie Larsen Jeff
DeFeo
21 18 Bruce Byrnes Russ
Reker
22 71 Allan DuBois Jeff
DuBois
23 86 Steve Watson John
Sullivan
24 26 Jeff Baerlocher Craig
Jacobs
25 40 Fred Mills Joseph
Seifert
26 08 Pete Mead Brad
Gross
27 48 Gabe Williams Mark
Church
28 69 Joe Leusby Robert
Stockton
29 10 Connie Cannon Amy
Solak
30 82 Clark Kent Tim
Valko
31 22 Colin Hunter Ted
Smutek
32 07 Nicholas Bauer Brad
Bauer
33 72 Garth Greenan Grant
Tally
34 Withdrew Barb Bradley Neil
Hanks
35 17 Jim Bauer Alison
Scott
36 70 PC Randolph Doug
Heady
37 43 Jim Laurent Mike Hartman
38 13 Jason Hall Josh
Taylor
39 23 Ashley Marsh Brad
Spies
40 64 Fred Rayman Dave
Timmerman
41 12 Chad Brandt Chris
McKenzie
42 24 Nick Walton Bob
Mitchell
43 58 Jon Webb Todd
VanDeVen
44 02 Jim Harwood Allen
Limberg
45 98 Joe Shaw Karine
Pellerin
46 28 Steven Landick Lynn
Capen
47 21 Ian Cote Guy
Rousseau
48 117A Frank Taber Frank
Bailey
49 88 Barb Bradley Jim
Larsen
50 60 Ted Matthews Joey
Kimsel
51 85 Gloria Wesley Gary
Aprea
52 97 Brett Thunstrom Dave
Dahl
Many AuSable Marathon paddlers will compete in the 2005
Spike’s Challenge C-1 and C-2 races held the weekend prior to the Marathon. The
C-2 race sprints for position and the C-1 Spike’s Challenge race will both be
held on Saturday, July 23, and the C-2 race will be conducted on the morning of
Sunday, July 24. The C-2 race begins like the AuSable Marathon – with paddling
teams running to the water at Ray’s – and ends at McMasters Bridge – the fourth
checkpoint of the 120-mile, 15-checkpoint AuSable Marathon.
The time trials for starting position for the 2005 AuSable
Marathon will be held on Thursday and Friday, July 28-29. In time trials,
paddling teams navigate a looped course at Penrod’s to determine starting
positions for the run to the river on Saturday, July 30 – the start of the 2005
AuSable River Canoe Marathon. During Friday’s time trials event, some of the
AuSable Marathon paddlers will compete in the Special Olympics Challenge, an
event that pairs marathon racers with Special Olympians. “I don’t know if a lot
of people realize this, but 10 percent of all (AuSable River Canoe Marathon)
race entry fees are donated to the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics is a
great organization, a worthy cause,” Zigila said. “We usually have more
(AuSable Marathon) paddlers that sign up than Special Olympians.”
For the second consecutive year, the AuSable Canoe Marathon
will set up its merchandise shop in a building on the corner of Michigan Avenue
and James Street (on the north side of Michigan Avenue, across the street from
Riverland). “We’ve got some pretty good shirt ideas,” Zigila said. “We’ll have
something for everybody, lots of colors. We’ll also have a variety of hats.” The
marathon merchandise outlet should be open for business the weekend of the
Spike’s Challenge races (July 23-24), Zigila said.
For more on the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, visit the
event’s website at www.ausablecanoemarathon.org.
