Featured image (from left): Algonquin Outfitters Muskoka River X race director Mike Varieur, Algonquin Outfitters staff Gord Baker and Randy Mitson, brothers Tim and Pat Turner, pro paddlers Fiona and Mike Vincent, and Algonquin Outfitters Muskoka River X race director Rob Horton
The Algonquin Outfitters Muskoka River X Classic, at 130 kilometres long, is the longest single-day paddling expedition race in the world and it’s happening this weekend (September 16-18) right in our backyard, along with its longer two-day cousin, the 220-kilometre Coureur des Bois.
Early on Saturday morning, September 17, 89 canoes, kayaks and paddleboards powered by 153 determined paddlers will head out from the Town Docks in pursuit of an elusive accomplishment: completing the course. It’s billed as the “toughest single-day canoe race in the world” for good reason: in its first three years, only 60 per cent of those who started the race finished it. Of those who didn’t, some simply didn’t make it to the next checkpoint in time; some got disoriented at night, finding themselves back at a previous checkpoint because they got turned around and paddled for kilometres in the wrong direction.
Last year’s winners of the Coureur des Bois, brothers and Cache Lake cottagers Pat and Tim Turner, were at Dwight Public Library last night to share their experiences in marathon canoeing before they set out to try for a repeat on Friday.
No strangers to the discipline of training, the brothers both competed as rowers in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with Pat bringing home a gold medal. And they’ve upped the ante in their move to extreme paddling – in June they completed the grueling 715-kilometre Yukon River Quest finishing an impressive third even after Tim fell ill on the second day.
It was Pat who suggested they try the Coureur des Bois. They had done a small race on Cache Lake – going up against counsellors from Algonquin Park camps – and performed well. “So Pat said, ‘Why don’t we try this thing called the MRX?’” recalls Tim. “We talked about it over the winter and went from a 30-minute race to a 14-hour one.” Besides, the Coureur des Bois route went right past their cottage. How could they not try it?
Tim lives in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire – Africa’s Ivory Coast – so he had a racing canoe shipped there and trained every morning in a tidal lagoon while Pat trained at his Prince George, BC home.
The crew that Tim trains with in Africa
Why do they do it? “I love being around water,” says Tim. “I can’t think of anything better (than being in a canoe) that I like to do. It’s like being in a different world.”
Expert paddler Fiona Vincent, who is also racing this weekend with her husband Mike, was in the audience and added, “It’s a life skill. It’s something you can do forever and you can do it with people who are very different in their skills…and paddle together. We’ve raced all across the world but it’s something we can do with our kids and our friends. It’s what made Canada what it is and it’s inside all of us. It connects us. I think that’s why a lot of people paddle whether they know it or not.”
The Algonquin Outfitters Muskoka River X (MRX) was inspired by early 1800s explorers and, in that spirit, teams paddle fully loaded with expedition gear and do not receive any assistance or support. Each team or solo paddler carries a YB3 GPS transmitter so that race directors (and you, too!) can follow the paddlers’ positions for the duration of the race. (Follow along here.)
The Classic route from Huntsville to Bracebridge and back – now in its fourth year – covers 130 kilometres with 20 portages. Teams must finish in 24 hours or less. In 2015, the 220-kilometre Coureur des Bois course was added – paddlers traverse Algonquin Park from Whitney to Oxtongue Lake on day one, and then take on the 130-kilometre Classic on day two. A shorter 80-kilometre Sprint from Huntsville to Bracebridge has been added for paddlers wanting to try an expedition race but with a more manageable distance.
Pat and Tim Turner aren’t the only illustrious paddlers attempting the Algonquin Outfitters MRX this weekend. Others include Olympic triathlete Simon Whitfield who will be paddling a SUP (stand up paddleboard) in the 80km Sprint, Fiona and Mike Vincent (Mike was part of the fastest team to complete the Classic course in a time of 13 hours and 17 minutes), and local paddlers Steve Varieur (three-time 130km winner / Solo Canoe), Chris Near (2015 220km winner / Solo Canoe), Monique and Greg Charlton (2015 130km winner / Co-Ed Tandem Canoe), and Dave Gibson (2015 130km winner / Male Tandem Canoe).
Chris Near portaging at Tea Lake Dam during the 220km Coureur des Bois (supplied photo)
The Algonquin Outfitters Muskoka River X is the last race of the season in the Ontario Ultra Paddling Point Series, a four-race event showcasing the ultra-distance paddling events in Ontario. Along with the Algonquin Outfitters Big East River X (40km), North Bay to Mattawa (64km), and K2O (200km) paddlers compete to earn points that will lead to one athlete being crowned Ontario’s Ultra Paddler of the Year. Supported by the Ontario Marathon Canoe and Kayak Racing Association, this race series is unique in Canada and North America. With 187 paddlers already in the standings this year Ontario (and Muskoka!) is quickly becoming a hub and destination for those who like to paddle long and fast.
Learn more about the Muskoka River X at muskokariverx.com.
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Once again an excellent event involving a very eclectic group of individuals…gr8 work Mike & Rob!