Canoes, kayaks race down Fox River

Vicki Culver and Cathy Palmer have been racing together in the Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race since 1985. For the last eight years they’ve raced down the Fox River in a bright pink Wenonah canoe, “Paddlin’ for the pink and all the rest.”

Culver, of Elgin, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2001. When she and Palmer, of Land O’ Lakes Wis., got the canoe three years later, the duo started fundraising in it, showing off the slogan and a large pink ribbon painted on the canoe’s side.

“The best thing is being on the river with your friend on a sunny day,” Culver said of the 50th anniversary Fox Valley Park District race.

Though dark clouds threatened paddlers and spectators, the rain stayed away from the morning event. Individuals and teams competed in a 10-mile race starting in St. Charles or a 6-mile race that launched later from Batavia.

Like several teams, Culver and Palmer finished the 10-miler and loaded up their canoe for the shorter race as well.

Jerry Grimes, of Aurora, and his nephew, Gary Newton, who comes up from Indiana for the race, finished first in their heat for the 10-mile course. Though Grimes and members of his family have raced for the last 31 years, it was the first time he partnered with Newton. The team practiced every two weeks on the Fox when Newton came up for school — and it paid off.

The pair finished in 1 hour and 26 minutes.

“It was fun,” Grimes said before heading back to compete in the 6-mile race with his wife. “Everything that we wanted it to be.”

The finish line was under the Illinois Avenue bridge in Aurora, where vendors and a DJ set up in McCullough Park for competitors and their fans.

Wendy Jones, her mother-in-law, Karla, and five little ones cheered from the bridge for Brian and Greg Jones — their husband, son, dad or uncle, respectively. The Geneva brothers carried on a family tradition. Their father started competing in the late 1970s with the neighbor who loaned them a canoe for this year’s race.

Brian Jones said the team improved by about 15 minutes from last year, which means the competition will really be on for the 2012 race.

Jeff Long, public relations manager for the Fox Valley Park District, said the goal of the event is to make it a family affair. There were kids as young as 4 years old participating as well as adults up to 91 years old.

“That’s what we love to see,” Long said. “That’s the whole idea of the race — for anybody and everybody to get involved.”