Sometime during the long, dark night, participants will wonder what the heck they're doing pulling an all-nighter in a canoe on the Au Sable River across northeast Michigan.
But mostly they'll focus on paddling in a grueling, 120-mile marathon canoe race marking its 60th anniversary July 28–29.
"You feel good, bad and numb about three different times and then, after a while, you just get in a routine and keep going," says Lynne Witte, 53, a Michigan teacher and veteran of 27 Weyerhaeuser Au Sable River International Canoe marathons.
North America's longest and most difficult nonstop canoe race is also an exciting event for fans who revel in its dual reputation as "America's Toughest Spectator Sport." After partying much of the day, they line the riverbanks in Grayling, in mid-Michigan, for Saturday night's thrilling 9 p.m. LeMans-style start when some 60 two-person teams, carrying lightweight canoes atop their heads, run through downtown streets, jostling for position.
After the chaotic shotgun launch, many fans drive all night, stopping to cheer favorites as they pass under bridges or portage canoes over six hydroelectric dams in a race that typically takes anywhere from 14 to 19 hours. Teams of "bank runners" or "feeders" scramble to supply the paddlers with cups of food, beverages or other necessities. "It's an adrenaline rush just like going to a football game or any other spectator sport," says Larry Raymond of Grayling.
By Sunday morning, camera-brandishing crowds grab riverside seats before 11 a.m. in Oscoda, near Lake Huron, to watch the weary winners. Cheers erupt as canoes glide across the finish line to the blaring sound of the "William Tell Overture."