1st Annual St. Joe River Marathon
South Bend / Mishawaka Indiana

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The Indiana Division of the United States Canoe Association would like to thank Sonja Gilman and Guy Gilman for their support of the 1st Annual St Joe River Marathon canoe and kayak races on Saturday, August 28, 2004.

The results of the races are as follows:

Saturday - August 28, 2004

K-1 Downriver Kayak Man
Earl Metzler (IN) 1:07:13

K-1 Sea Kayak 17ft & Under Man
Mark Crettel (IN) 1:41:10

K-1 Sea Kayak 17ft & Under Woman
Brenna Michaelis (IN) 1:50:31
Emily Michaels (IN) DNF

K-1 Sea Kayak Over 17ft Man
Guy Gilman (IN) 1:09:33
Brent Ernsberger (IN) 1:09:50
Bill Rothwell (MI) 1:10:27
Bob Stwalley (IN) 1:17:30

K-1 Sea Kayak Over 17ft Woman
Sonja Gilman (IN) 1:13:40
Kelly Harrington (IN) 1:26:43

K-1 Open Man
Paul Kane (MI) 1:04:11
Buzz Lail (IN) 1:08:25

K-2 Men
Steve Peterson (IN) / Patrick Sawyer (IN) 1:03:40

C-1 Cruiser Man
Gene Bennett (IN) 1:08:53
Matt Meersman (IN) 1:09:26
Frank Tinsley (IN) 1:12:56
Terry Pontius (IN) 1:13:41

C-2 Mixed Cruiser
Bill Kanost (IN) / Deb Kanost (IN) 1:08:23
Wally Werderich (IL) / Bleem Werderich (IL) 1:24:33

C-2 Standard Men
Mike Beach (IN) / Ron Beach (IN) 1:23:57


Unlimited Water Cycle
Jake Free (IN) 1:15:00

Aug 28: South Bend to Mishawaka Kayak and Canoe Race

7.2 Miles on St. Joseph River

Race day morning we were awakened to thunder and lightning at 5:00 AM - not a good omen for our first race. But we kept a positive dogged attitude and left the house at 7:30 AM to set-up for the race with thunder and lightning in the distance. Our race was to start at 10:00 AM and we were hopeful that the weather would break. As we approached race time the weather did indeed become beautiful. The sky cleared to partly cloudy with little or no wind and "slight humidity" (depending on who you ask!).

The course started across the street from Indiana University of South Bend and proceeded down stream 1.5 miles past the Notre Dame Rowing Club at Howard Park to the walking bridge turn around in South Bend near the East Race. The paddlers looped around past the starting line on their way to Mishawaka where they paddled through a channel against a swift moving current around a newly developed park on Kamm's Island about 3.5 miles. The remaining 2.2 miles were downstream to the finish at Veterans Memorial Park. There were many spectacular vantage points along the race for viewers. The entire area has been developed with parks and a multi-purpose trail that parallels the river.

We were pleased with the participation. Competitors came from all over the state of Indiana, from Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Mishawaka, Osceola, South Bend, Valparaiso, and Warsaw. Paddlers Bill Rothwell and Paul Kane came from Niles, Michigan. The participants who traveled the farthest were the Werderich's from Yorkville, IL who paddled C2 mixed as a celebration of their anniversary. They seemed to be smiling after the race so we guess their paddle went ok.

After the race, Bill Smoke (father of K2 Olympian Jeff Smoke) arrived to recruit paddlers to fill the seats of a K4 he was using to pull a water skier as a publicity stunt. We don't know the out come of this attempt but it sounded like fun.

Overall we had a very interesting day - a Great Race! Sonja Gilman

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