GRAYLING- Its almost time for paddlers to ‘hup all night’, as year seventy-seven of the AuSable river canoe marathon is just under 24 hours from beginning
What once began as an idea over a cup of coffee in 1947 has turned into a must-see event that spectators flock to year after year to watch. The race begins in grayling and ends in Oscoda, a total of 120 miles, so paddlers are in for a roughly fifteen to nineteen battling fatigue, darkness, and the waters of the AuSable river
Time trials for the race concluded today, the trials are a short sprint that determines paddlers positions for the four-block Le Mans style sprint to get canoes into the water that begins the race on Saturday that thousands will be there to witness. 115 2-person teams are in the field this year representing 21 U.S. states as well as Beliz and Canada for the 2nd stop of canoeing’s triple crown. The first being the general Clinton Regatta in New York and last being La Classique in Quebec.
The race goes throughout the night, and the only light is for the spectator’s sake at timing checkpoints near bridges and dams, the paddlers know the river well enough to function without it, and it provides cover when attempting to lose a boat behind you or pass a canoe ahead. The canoes themselves weigh under 30 pounds and are made of carbon fiber technology that meets exact specifications. Each boat is worth around 5,000 dollars-- making the first place prize money of 6,000 seem insignificant, but the top canoe racers in the world don’t come to Northern Michigan for the cash prize, they come to experience a race with rich history and fandom, and to test their limits and see if they can finish before the cutoff time of 19 hours.
To do so they must average 60 to 90 strokes per minute, each hup marks when they switch sides of the canoe with their paddle, and it takes over 50,000 paddle strokes to reach the finish line. Jorden Wakely and Matt Meersman set the race record in 2021 at 13 hours 54 minutes, last years finishers came in with a time of 14 hours and 35 minutes. Theres a good mix in the field this year of those that have finished a few times, are attempting for the first time, and even iron paddler award winners which is an honor given to those that have finished the marathon ten times. Its sure to be packed in grayling tomorrow for the event that is free to spectators
We’ll be live streaming the race tomorrow on 9and10news.com, YouTube, and the Zeem app.