I’ve been remiss in not letting you know about the AuSable Canoe Marathon.
It’s happening RIGHT NOW!
It’s easy to watch it online, so you have until about 1pm to enjoy the action.
…Or, just pretend that it didn’t start yesterday and scroll through the results-updates whenever you like and watch the race unfold.
What I like to do is go to the Results Link and see how the teams are doing from bridge to bridge. A lot can change in a short time! (This link can be hard to find, so here it is: www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/result10.html.)
Another fun thing is to listen to the live streaming radio updates.
It looks like it’s the biggest field ever for this race, with upwards of 90 teams looking to complete the 120-mile route.
It takes about 18 hours to finish. All the teams are basically of the pro level. If they don’t make tight checkpoints at every stage then they’re out. No slow boats here.
The Marathon is Michigan’s biggest summer public event, with 50,000 spectators and a $50k prize purse.
It’s free to watch and a whole lot of action.
And the price is right for times like these, huh?
I really appreciate the northwoods turnout for this race. A couple radio stations keep live reporting going on the whole time and the local papers run pretty good stories. It doesn’t seem to get much media/PR traction below the rifle/shotgun line at Clare, though. (Well, the Detroit papers have covered it from time to time.)
(Speaking of affordable fun, I’d think that self-supported bike touring would be booming these days, but I haven’t seen it. The paid/supported/sagged tours are doing well, though — but largely among the graying crowd. What do young folks do for fun in lean times, anyway? A lot of times when we overhear folks chatting at the grocery store — of any age group — they’ve just been to the casino.)
Anyway, I’ve been enjoying watching how our local friends are doing in the Marathon last night and this morning. Our mixed-team friends, Tom and Connie Cannon, spent the first few hours last night at the back of a pack of boats. When I woke up this morning it was fun to see them drop their pack and move up a bunch of places. …Their main mixed-team rivals were in that pack and look like they’ve really fallen off the pace.
I was going to help Tom and Connie with their support but our up-north trailer life plans got in the way. Their two boys — 11 and 14– are their main pit crew. They’re experts already, having been around the race since they were babies. But they needed someone to do the driving!
I’m back home right now to catch up on my shipping for the first time in 3 weeks, so in the end I couldn’t afford to spend 2 days on the race (then I have to head back up to help with another fair). It looks like they’re getting great pit support, though!
Go Tom and Connie!
I’m also following my longtime ski and canoe pal Tim Feldkamp and his partner Darin Lile. Tim has raced it every year since he and I spectated our first Marathon. He caught the bug bigtime! They’re not superfast but they’re hanging in there — and, like everyone, they’re always looking to move up a few boats.
There are other stories everywhere in this race. Dig into any you like and see how the race unfolds for them.
It’s always neat to see how the all-women team does. Then there are the rookie teams (with 2 asterisks). And the family teams (same last names).
Al Widing, Sr., missed his first start in decades, with a shoulder injury. He’s 84. He says he’ll be back!
https://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org
