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Jaden Gibson: One hundred five teams are in northern Michigan this weekend to make the 120-mile trek from Grayling to Oscoda in the AuSable River Canoe Marathon.
To learn more about the 78th annual running of the marathon, WCMU's Tina Sawyer spoke with race spokesperson Phil Weiler about what people can expect to see.
Tina Sawyer: The route weaves through six hydroelectric dams. What are the challenges doing this, especially after this past spring's flooding and dam shutdowns? Is there any change to the route or does it affect it at any rate?
Phil Weiler: No, there isn't any change to the route. I mean, if you would have asked me probably two months ago if we were having the race, yeah, there was a lot of the dams that were wide open, and I don't know how safe that would have been. But because we are now at the end of July going into August, everything is calm. come down. So the route is the same.
TS: Well, given the mileage in this river race, it's 120 miles. What have you heard from some of the paddlers as to how they mentally or physically prepare for this race?
PW: Well, those two things, let's break them apart. First call, there's the physical part where these paddlers are pretty much on a year-round schedule to stay in shape. Now there's the mental aspect. And the first thing and the toughest thing is to do the first race. like I tell people, the winning time is usually around the 15-hour mark. So I want you to sit in a car for 15 hours or I want you to sit in a chair and read a book for 15 hours. You just mentally can't grasp that. So a lot of times what paddlers will do, three and four hour chunks so that you can at least process it.
TS: How did the competitors eat or go to the bathroom or hydrate or any of that during the race?
PW: Basically, each team has a feeder crew. It's like a NASCAR pit crew and they follow their team along the race and they have designated spots where they will be in the river at night and rehydrate them with bottles or different foods or maybe some Tylenol, Motrin or you know, the big thing at night, Tina, is motion sickness.
TS: Oh really?
PW: You know during the daylight when you have a chance to focus on the shoreline and the horizon and everything else. A lot of great paddlers are fine. You turn the lights out and there's just a little spotlight on the front of the boat. It gives them a little, little something, something.
TS: What will the crowds get out of this? Can they, like at a bike race where people just kind of hang out along the route and cheer them on with cowbells?
PW: Oh yeah, most definitely. I mean, people are just in masses, just a roar as they go by.
TS: Is there any compelling individual stories that you've heard from this years racing teams?
PW: Yeah, I'll tell you the one that sticks out in my mind the most is Lynn Witte. It's a name that's pretty, you know, significant with marathon canoe racing. And she is, she'll kill me for saying... That's she's 72 and she is starting her 46th marathon.
TS: Wow.
PW: 46th! And just for those of you that don't do the quick math, that's over 5,500 miles. And it's just, it's pretty spine tingling.
JG: That was Phil Weiler, a spokesperson for the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, talking with WCMU's Tina Sawyer. The marathon kicks off in Grayling at 9 p.m. tomorrow.
