A non-stop overnight canoe race known as the AuSable River Canoe Marathon will begin this weekend for its 77th annual time in Grayling. Over 100 teams will compete and battle the cold, darkness and fatigue.
But such a challenge requires many hours of work and training that the contestants have put in.
For example, Chris Issendorf, who is from Texas, said he spent about 300 hours in a canoe since January and believes that many hours of training are what build a good physical shape.
Issendorf’s partner is Christophe Proulx from Quebec. They have both already participated in the marathon eight times, but this will be the first time they’ll race together. Issendorf’s best result in this marathon was third place, and Proulx has won the race twice.
“Now that it's race week, it's hard for me to believe that I could win, but he keeps reassuring me that we got a shot,” Issendorf said.
They were able to meet a couple of times to train together before this summer, but mostly they had to train in different places across the continent.
“We were doing our homework,” Proulx said. “We know what we have to do. Chris is a great endurance paddler and I've been doing it as well for a long time. So, I trusted him with his preparation, and he trusted me with my preparation.”
For Proulx in Canada, he can’t paddle during the winter because the river freezes. But he said he’s a cyber operator for the Canadian Armed Forces, and his job gives him an opportunity to have enough personal time to train.
In contrast, weather in Texas allows Issendorf to paddle all year long.
“Every other day I do about an hour and a half, and on the weekends, I try to do something a little longer, two to three hours,” he said. “Not a lot of intensity until we start getting closer to races and then as we get closer, I start to ramp the intensity up, don’t do as much time, more speed work.”
What also helps Issendorf with training is that everyone in his household is “addicted to canoe racing,” he said. Issendorf and his wife spend a lot of time in canoe training together, which also helps them bond, he said.
“I've been dedicated to this, and she's allowed me to put in the time and the work and not go on vacation, skip anniversaries to go train,” he said. “I can't thank her enough, and any bit of success that I have comes from my family. That's where I draw my strength from.”
Issendorf’s son is also racing in the marathon this year.
“He's worked so hard the past couple of years to get to where he is, and I hope that everything goes his way, and him and his partner do really well and get to the finish line,” he said.
But while Issendorf’s wife and son race with their partners, Alberto and Miranda Blanco make up a team of newcomers.
Alberto is 44 and his daughter Miranda is 17. They came to Grayling from Miami because they said doing sports together has always been their love language.
Alberto is an athlete, and he competed in international cycling races. And Miranda said her dad used to train her in tennis when she was little.
“We've always done adventures together,” Miranda said. “We've hiked, we've biked, we've done kayaking, and this is just not like anything else. And it's the biggest adventure and the funest for us too.”
Alberto and Miranda learned about the marathon last year and wanted to participate. They started with a smaller race leading to the marathon called Curley Memorial Canoe Race but placed dead last.
That’s when they realized that they won’t be able to finish the AuSable River Canoe Marathon and decided to train more and try again next year.
Alberto said many more experienced paddlers took them under their wing and gave them lots of advice.
“They helped us with all that, [like] finding the best place for us to be sitting on the canoe and sliding the seat forward back, adding some extra weight in the in the front of the boat to trim it better because I'm sitting in the back and there is about a 50-pound difference between me and Miranda,” Alberto said.
The father and daughter continued their training at home. Alberto did running and cycling, and Miranda rowed crew to get in shape for the marathon.
Today they’re confident in their skills and said they’re so excited for the marathon this year that Miranda even declined a full scholarship offer at the University of Florida because its schedule competed with the marathon.
“We're looking forward to the race,” Alberto said. “We're looking forward to completing, ... improving and spending more time up here in a sport and in Michigan and really enjoying these beautiful events.”
But Alberto and Miranda aren’t the only ones who are excited to visit Michigan and their friends.
Sarah Lessard is from Quebec, and this is going to be the 11th time she’ll race in the marathon. Her best overall result before was 16th place, and she won the women’s division some years ago as well.
Lessard said what makes her come every year to the marathon is the people there.
“It's basically my family away from my own family,” she said. “The crowd is just the energy. You cannot see that type of energy at any other race. Grayling is very special for that.”
For her training, Lessard said she likes to do different sports depending on the time of the year. For example, in the fall she likes to do running and hiking, in winter she prefers cross country and skiing and at other times of the year, she does canoeing.
“I am a physical education teacher and I am super efficient at using my time because I'm also a mother,” she said. “Let’s say if I have a lunch break at school, I will go for a run. Every time my daughter's not with me, I will go canoeing, rain or shine. I'm just very dedicated.”
As an experienced paddler, Lessard has some advice for newcomers like Alberto and Miranda. First, she said it’s important to be persevering and open to learning.
Lessard also said she never follows a training plan leading to the marathon, but said what matters is to perceive paddling as a passion, not a job.
Another piece of advice comes from Proulx. He said it’s important to be intentional with training and have a plan before the event.
“And for the big race it's just to eat and make sure that you know where you're going,” he said. “Make sure that everything is clear and that you have a plan as a team.”
Issendorf added that it’s hard to do the AuSable River Canoe Marathon only once.
“Some things are going to go wrong, some things are going to go right,” he said. “At the end, you're going to feel like you got beat up. Don't let it break you. Keep training and come back again next year because it only gets better.”
