Sunday marathon on the river really floats their boats

They came, they saw, they paddled.

The 52nd annual Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon was held in stunningly perfect weather Sunday.

Hundreds of people piloting canoes and kayaks started in Libertyville and glided to the finish in Mt. Prospect. Event chairman Jack Snarr said there were nearly 500 boats in the river this year, down slightly from the 560 entries last year.

The serious competitors were obvious. Kayakers waxed down their ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber paddles. Canoers loaded their boats with energy bars. The steel-eyed oarsmen had their game faces on. If they had a winning strategy, they weren't sharing it with anyone.

But most of the folks, it seemed, really didn't have a game plan. Their goal was to finish dry and not sunburned.

"We just want to have fun and make good time," said Monique Gonzalez, of Trevor, Wis., who paired up with her sister Caroline Copenhaver of Lake Villa.

"We're hoping to finish in less than five hours unless we need a bathroom break," Copenhaver said. "I told my sister we'd better keep our drinking to a minimum."

Marco Amidei and his paddling partner Marty Neal, both of Libertyville, said they were semi-serious about the race.

"We're preparing for a big canoe trip in Minnesota's Boundary Waters," Amidei said. "We figured this was a good way to get ready."

Neal seemed resigned to needing some ibuprofen at the end of the day.

"I imagine we'll have sore backs and be walking kind of crooked tonight," he said.

Started in 1957, the 18.5 mile marathon is one of the oldest in the country, Snarr said. The average competitor will complete the race in about 3.5 hours, though some might take close to five hours to finish. The fastest time he remembers was about two hours. Awards were given in 23 different classes of competition.

With an average of 1,000 paddlers per race, Snarr estimates nearly 1 million miles of water have been traversed since the event began in the late 1950s.

Lacking an honest strategy to win the race, Sam Hoffman of Long Grove and Shaun Loomis of Vernon Hills opted for intimidation and fear to best their competitors.

The 19-year-olds donned pirate costumes complete with eye patches, hooked hands and a skull and cross bones flag flying from their black canoe.

"We really don't know a thing about canoeing, but thought it would be fun to show up as pirates," Hoffman laughed.

Instead of water bottles and snacks, the guys stocked the "Black Mambo II" with gold coins, a treasure map and a short plank hanging from the side of their craft.

"We're also packing squirt guns," Loomis said. "These people are going to regret seeing us."