Canoe race offers more fun with 2 courses

There will be nothing lazy about the Fox River Sunday morning during the Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race.

The 48th mostly annual race returns to its traditional date, the first Sunday in June, after a couple of years of man- and Mother Nature-made problems that either canceled it or delayed it.

Organizers learned from last year's race - just 6 miles instead of the usual 10 - that new canoers and those racing with children liked the shorter distance. So they kept it, while adding back in the 10-mile segment.

The race starts at 10 a.m. at Mount St. Mary Park on Route 31, south of downtown St. Charles. The short segment begins at 11 a.m. at the Overseas Post 1197, Veterans of Foreign Wars, at 625 S. River St. (Route 25), Batavia.

Online and mail registration is closed, but you can register on the day of the race, starting at 7 a.m. in St. Charles and 9 a.m. in Batavia.

Also new this year: Organizers are selling photographs of the canoeists and kayakers, taken as they approach Gregory Island bridge in Aurora.

Gregory Island is a good spot to watch the race, as Jeff Long hopes people will, recalling days past when it drew large crowds. "I grew up with the race," said Long, who can't participate because he'll be working the race for the Fox Valley Park District. "I'll just have to watch and wish."

There's a party at the finish line at McCullough Park in Aurora. The racers will receive a free lunch, and there is entertainment, prize drawings, games, massages for sore shoulders and backs and vendor booths.

The race was canceled in 2007 due to the reconstruction of the Wilson Street bridge in Batavia. It was moved to September in 2008 and shortened, because the bridge project did not wrap up on time.

Good racers can make the run in 90 minutes from St. Charles, 45 minutes from Batavia, Long estimated. At one time, the race was 22 miles long, beginning near Elgin.

More than 230 boats had been registered as of Thursday afternoon.

For costs and a registration form to print out, visit foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.