Smooth running for Des Plaines River canoe marathon
Paddlers overflowed with compliments for the Des Plaines River after Sunday's 59th annual running of the Des Plaines River Canoe and Kayak Marathon.
"It was gorgeous. The river is beautiful," Neil Wiesner-Hanks said as he and paddling partner Beth Schluter, both from Wisconsin, lugged their boat uphill after finishing the 18.5-mile course.
They were among an estimated 600 canoeists and kayakers to take part in the competition, which featured the full marathon and a 5.25-mile "minithon." While paddlers basked in the beauty of the river, however, their bodies ached with the strain of rowing the course, which for the marathoners began at Oak Spring Road in Libertyville and finished at Dam No. 2 Woods in Mount Prospect.
Schluter said her arms and legs felt "a little like Jell-O." During the voyage, she fortified herself with "a picnic" of watermelons, bananas and cantaloupe.
Event Co-Chairman Jack Snarr said the water was low with very little current, making conditions more challenging for participants.
"It would be nicer to have a strong tail wind to push them down the river," he said. "But at least it's not a head wind."
The first heat started at 8 a.m. under clear skies and pleasant temperatures. The first boats began arriving at the finish about 2½ hours later, with Kiril Florov of Countryside reaching the shore first in his kayak.
Next came David Long of Indiana and Roger Eaton of Australia. Both arrived accompanied by some additional water in their boat, which leaked as a result of contact with either a piece of wood or metal in the river.
The field was studded with seasoned veterans.
Don Mueggenborg of Lemont has taken part in the race since 1969. Between him and his paddling partner, Don Browning of Crete, a combined age of more than 160 was sitting in their boat.
He said the major change over the years has been the growing number of kayakers.
"(With kayaks), you don't need to find a partner," Mueggenborg said.
Don Winter has been paddling the Des Plaines River since he was a child in the 1960s.
"We used to come out here, and there were washing machines and Volkswagens in the river," he said.
No one complained about such obstructions Sunday. In fact, several paddlers complimented the cleanliness of the course.
"It was perfect," said Steve Conlon of Batavia. "Whoever cleaned the river did an amazing job."
One racer was paddling with a purpose. Harriet Kurp of Des Plaines, said she was racing in tribute to three friends who died of cancer.
Although you won't see them in the standings, a hardy team of volunteers put in considerable effort to bring the event to fruition, among them Bess Everitt of Libertyville, who didn't paddle but expended plenty of energy helping lower boats into the water for the start.
"I skipped this one, because I'm usually pretty tired from launching 600 boats," she said.