Training and Racing

A rower training to race will usually engage in regular, intense sessions on the erg or on the water.  A rower training for health may row with less intensity, moderately, every day.

Suppose the rower for health decides to race. Does the level of intensity have to increase all the time or can she continue at a moderate pace?

It depends on the rower's goals. If the goal is to participate in a race, to try it, to experience the event and meet others, it is not necessary to train as if you are trying to win. Even at major events like the Head of the Charles, there are competitors out there who have trained in that way. They may be slower, but they are participating.

If the goal is to see how well you can do, you will want to ratchet up the intensity of some workouts. Do not plan to row easily at all times before an event and then have the ability to row the course at full power.

On the other hand, the moderate training you have done year round can provide a solid aerobic base on which to build as you begin to train to compete. Build on it with interval work. See how your body responds to shorter bursts of harder rowing. Watch day to day and week to week as your strength and wind improve.

The Five Points of Contact

Rowing on a machine is very similar to rowing on the water, but also very different. The basic bodily motion is (or should be) the same. But on the machine you are only moving back and forth but you are not moving through space. You are not dealing with balance. And you are not interacting with the surface of the water.

One model you can follow to pay attention to what you are doing as you row is to focus on the points of contact. On the erg there are three, feet in the foot stretcher, seat on the seat and hands on the handle. On the water, there are two more.

Consider the (outdoor) rowing motion from the perspective of points of contact among the body and the equipment and the water. It is through these points of contact that your bodily effort moves the boat. You are sitting down and yet you are moving. You are facing backwards and yet you are going forward. You are moving your body back and forth and yet the boat moves continually ahead. The blades of your oars repeatedly drop into and lift out of the water and yet you stay balanced. The blades push against a fluid and yet they propel your solid boat and body across the water. How does each of the five points of contact enable you to make this happen?

The five points of contact are the points where your body touches the equipment and the oars touch the water:

• The foot stretcher, where your body is fixed to the boat;
• The seat, where your weight rests and on which you move back and forth;
• The handles, the link between your hands, the boat and the water;
• The oarlock, the fulcrum against which you lever the boat forward with the oars; and
• The blades, the instrument with which your bodily effort swings the boat forward.

Next time you are in a boat, select one of these points of contact and consider, as you row, what part it plays. Here is one image to start with:  Imagine you and your single are floating not on the water but in the air. You are a unitary physical system, of which the boat is about 30 pounds and most of the weight is your body.  If you were floating on air (and are ignoring rowing/forward motion for a moment), each movement you make back and forth with your body would involve a corresponding opposite motion of the boat. And, since your body has more mass, the boat would move a correspondingly greater speed or distance to maintain equilibrium. Apply that to taking a stroke; as you glide through the recovery, the boat must surge forward, not necessarily because you are pulling it forward with your feet, but simply because the weight/mass as a whole will have consistent momentum – and as you reverse (actually just slow) the forward momentum of your body, that must necessary speed the forward momentum of the boat.

Am I Hungry or Full: Exercise First

Nutritionists and sports therapists will often point out that exercise can affect diet in positive ways. After you exercise, you may feel less hungry. And you will want to eat something that fuels your body more effectively with better nutrition.

But also consider the feeling of hunger in the afternoon, the feeling before you row:

I am driving back from a meeting. I can go back to my desk and work; or I can get a snack or early dinner; or I can go for a row first. I feel hungry. And then I realize that I also feel full.

On the hungry side, I want a burst of energy; I long for something that tastes good; my teeth want to work on a snack, if only a candy bar or an apple or granola.

But at the same time I realize my gut is not sending signals of hunger. The digestive tract has plenty to work on. I have had the experience of rowing when I am somewhat full, too soon after eating or with too much in the tank. It is not comfortable; I cannot breathe as deeply. I do not get as good a workout.

If I row now and eat afterwards, I will enjoy both experiences more.

(Next: Relax in the evening with a glass of wine or a row - or both!?)

Eugene ("Luigi") Faccuito

Today's NYTimes reports on the life and death of this dancer, choreographer and teacher who helped many deal with injury and use of the body with a systematized approach to movement.

The report summarizes, of his approach:

"It emphasizes strength, balance, alignment, bodily freedom and above all the imperative of his oft-repeated mantra, 'Never stop moving.'"

In 1946, to help himself recover his ability to walk after an auto accident, he "devised a painstaking regimen of stretching, breathing and movement, isolating the muscles needed to move each part of the body."

What Feels Good

When you ask what feels good about rowing, or about exercise generally, you will tend to get several types of response.

One response is that it does not feel good; I do not exercise because it is boring, it is hard and I would sweat. It would make me sore and my muscles would become even tighter than they already are. It does no good.

Another response is, I know I will feel good if I start and stick with it, but I hate going through the early phases, the first days and weeks.

Those who have developed a routine and either avoided the obstacles of the prior response or have, at least, gotten past those first days, will often say, I do not know why, but I like the fact that I feel better all day. And I sleep better.

Some more specific responses include appreciation of losing weight, feeling more fit, having more energy and enjoying my meals more.

Some new to rowing focus on how it differs from the running and cycling and basketball/tennis/etc. they used to rely on primarily for fitness; it is more efficient and uses more of the body and I do not have sore joints from doing it.

Once you have a daily routine, you will find you feel good about including it in your schedule, doing something positive for your health, no longer feeling as heavy or full and more.

This list could go on and on, and with every person and group, something new and different comes out, a positive feeling from rowing.

Let’s consider what may be one of the ultimate good feelings that can come from rowing, the feeling of having great wind. You are working in and on your comfort zone each day you row. With longer pieces, shorter and more intense pieces and judicious use of intervals, you push yourself to a point of being more winded while you row. And, lo and behold, you find your wind improves. Not only can you then ‘push’ a bit harder or farther the next time you row, but you also feel less easily winded as you go about your daily routines. And then the day comes that you row so close to the edge of your comfort zone that you expect to feel the familiar desire to stop. But you do not. Instead, you feel you could go on forever, even though you are breathing hard.

Moderate or Intense for Health?

Two of the quotes I use in the coming book “A Row a Day for a Year” refer to the usefulness of moderate exercise:

“Exercise does not have to involve working up a drenching sweat. Moderate exercise, preferably every day, provides significant health benefits. The key is doing moderately active things regularly.”

            Merck, at 806

“My parents always wanted me to be above average, but this [exercise] is one area where average is fine.”

            Michael Lauer, MD

The point that moderate exercise is sufficient – and that strenuous exercise may not be as effective at promoting health – was made in a NYTimes article by Gretchen Reynolds last Tuesday.

But what level of effort works best for you?

There may be several factors that affect what level of exercise, what degree of effort, feels right.

• Feeling: "If I do not row harder, I do not feel I have done any good." Pay attention to your feelings, but also learn to distinguish between the satisfying sense of ‘clearing the pipes’ with some good hard strokes and what promotes health.  Most importantly, do not stop rowing just because you are rowing less strenuously than you used to. You may be slower, but you are still promoting your health.

• Weight: "Row slow to burn fat," some say. But we all know that you burn fewer calories if you do not push as hard. Where do you draw the line? We all will tend to find it harder to keep the weight off as we age. But consider whether that comes with increasing weakness rather than being an inevitable challenge. Use your time wisely; row longer and vary your work with intervals. We can learn at any age, even how to eat better. Do not let the tail wag the dog; eat for what you need rather than letting what you eat control you.

• Weakness: If we weaken as we age, one reaction is to try to row harder to make up for that. A different reaction is to allow our pace to slacken. We may need to get smarter as we age, and one way to row smarter is to row more consistently. A long hard row on the weekend instead of regular rows all week will likely be less effective, in part because you will find you have lost muscle mass and strength during the week. Get in control of the process by rowing daily.

• Sweat and the Lungs: You may not feel satisfied without breaking a sweat and filling the lungs deeply. But that does not mean you have to row at your limit the full 30 minutes (or hour) you are on the machine. Do some mini-pieces from time to time, in effect rowing with what used to be called the “fahrtlech” method (from the German ‘traveling’). Let your body push as hard as you want when it feels right, but let it ease off, too, when that feels comfortable.

Why Breathe Deeper

David B. Agus, MD notes in his book "A Short Guide to a Long Life" (page 158) that we "breathe in 2,000 gallons of air a day into an organ with the surface area of a tennis court."

That's your lungs. They fit in your chest but due to the complexity of the inner surface where the air you breathe meets your blood their working surface area is extensive.

So how much of that surface area do you use? If you are not breathing deeply, you do not use it all, certainly not to its capacity.

And what happens to unused organs in the body? If you do not use all of the lungs' capacity for exchange of oxygen and waste, what happens to the portions of  your lungs you are not using fully? Do they remain fit and available for use, or do they harbor disease or become unusable over time?

Breathe more deeply once a day. Not in the sense of sitting and taking one or more deep breaths. Get your body moving. Let your body decide how deep to breathe. Keep moving until you know you are using a greater portion of your lungs with deeper breaths.

One reason rowing is such a useful exercise is that it uses a high percentage of the body at once (joints, muscle mass, etc.). That greater simultaneous demand more readily creates a greater demand on the lungs. It is an efficient way to breathe more deeply and, thus, to gain the benefits of your lung power.

Is it fair to say that hard working lungs are happy lungs? Maybe that is too simple, potentially misleading. But you get the point.

Dealing with Aging - From You

            Are you trying to figure out how to deal with the declining strength and wind that comes with age? Consider the following situation provided by Allen S. (shared with his permission):

            First, last July: “I have been rowing for about 5 years on a Model D and have a lifetime total of over 7 million meters. I'm 69 years old and my max HR is 178 (recorded using a HR monitor during a 2k time trial) and my resting HR is 48. I generally work out in a HR range of 130-152. That range was determined using the Karvonen method. A couple of years ago, I could row for an hour at 152 without difficulty. Now 15 minutes at that rate leaves me exhausted. Scans performed by a physician show that I have no plaque in my arteries and I'm not aware of any medical issues. I suspect that I have ‘overtrained.’ . . . Apparently 152 is too high a rate for me on a regular basis.”

            And now, six months later:

            “It seemed like my rowing efforts in July and August kept going downhill. So, I decided to really back off and not allow my heart rate (HR) to get above 120 while exercising. In September, at a checkup with my doc, I tried to explain my frustration with my workouts, being generally tired, etc. His response was “You’re not an athlete and you’re getting older; what do you expect?” Then he said he thought I was depressed and he wanted to start me on a med for that. I told him that I was indeed depressed but it was because I couldn’t do my workouts at any sort of a reasonable level. He finally agreed to do extra blood work to check things out. Fortunately, those results were normal. I told him I wanted to see a cardiologist just to make sure everything was okay. An echocardiogram and a sleep study both came back normal. After all of that, I was satisfied that I was healthy and had just been pushing too hard for too long.

            “Ironically, about that same time, I read an article about a book by Matt Fitzgerald called “80/20 Running.” What caught my attention was that the book was based on studies by a pretty successful masters rower and PhD by the name of Stephen Seiler. Here is an interesting article by him:

http://prevost-training.blogspot.com/2014/03/understanding-intervals-by-dr-stephen.html

            “I purchased the “80/20 Running” book and was very fascinated. The book points out that most professional athletes train at a low intensity pace about 80% of the time and only train at moderate and high intensities 20% of the time. The book further points out that most amateurs train at something like 50/50 and consistently push too hard. I realize it comes down to how you define “low, moderate and high” intensity. Matt believes that those definitions should be based upon your “lactate threshold” HR and he developed an app to make it simple to figure out what that HR is for each individual. The app is from PEAR Sports. Basically, you use that app to measure your HR at various exercise intensities and it comes up with “lactate threshold” and calculates five exercise zones. After I had a chance to read the book and study my calculated zones, I was indeed in the 50/50 group and probably worse than that.

            “Matt has quite a few exercise plans at the back of his book for runners but they are easily converted to other sports. I took his basic half-marathon plan and converted it to rowing using RowPro. I started working on that plan about 12 weeks ago and it is going very well. It seems unbelievably easy and yet my row rates are steadily improving for the various zones.

            “For the past four years, I have rowed about 2 million meters each year. Then, last year, I struggled to reach 1.2 million meters. I looked back at my monthly totals for this year and they were Jul=81k, Aug=105k, Sep=64k, Oct=61k, Nov=119k, Dec=221k. I started Matt’s plan the first part of November. For the past four years, I have met the 200k level for the Holiday Challenge and I was pretty excited to again reach that goal after a pretty tough summer and fall.”

                                                                                                Allen S.

            Lots of great references here that are worth exploring. And, perhaps most importantly, a great story of persistence, paying attention and adjusting to enhance your experience.

Diet Plans and Exercise

I have never been a dieter. In my younger years, I ate as much as I wanted and did not face a weight problem. That may have been partly because my extensive exercise was burning off more calories than I ate. I would also like to think that I ate wisely, seeking good nutrition rather than empty calories. But that certainly was not always the case.

As I have aged, I have found it harder to keep off the pounds. That has made me more aware of talk about diets. I still have not undertaken a specific diet. And I am very aware that it has become harder over the years to exercise as hard as I once did.

I hear talk from friends about high protein diets, high carb diets, no wheat diets, cabbage diets and more. The names apparently come from the devisers of the diets and/or the concept. (Is there one called the Neanderthal diet?)

But I have a question. When we debate whether eating carbohydrates will result in my putting on more fat compared to eating a meat and fat diet, are we talking about the chemistry of the body or about something else? If I consume only the calories I need and not more, does it matter whether I eat meat or bread? Unless I eat more than I need (more than I burn up through daily living and exercise), it will not turn to fat whether it is cheese or rolls, right? Instead, the food I consume will be consumed to run my body.

And if I eat more than I need or if I fail to consume the nutrition I need, then I will likely pack on some more fat. Right or wrong?

So is the key to weight gain the calories we take in or the calories we burn off?

Circadian2 - 'Spanish' Lifestyle

Let's question how the 24-hour rhythm works.

Some would say it is important to eat, row and sleep following a regular pattern.  I do schedule morning rows when I am approaching an early morning race to get my body used to the timing of the race, but I do not necessarily row at the same time every day.  Some would say the continuous cycle of digestion works better if we eat and exercise and rest on schedule.  Does exercise-recovery work the same way? For many of us, making every day the same simply is not practical because of work or family demands and changes day to day.

And then there are the Spanish, working all week during the day but socializing much of the night on the weekends (or so I understand - plan to visit and see for myself next month). (Or compare the use of the siesta/resting afternoon and later nights with the US 40-hour week on a 9-5 schedule. And when the French went to the 35-hour work week, what was the effect?) Obviously, the body is able to work with such changes and/or on different schedules. But, just as we counsel against the weekend warrior syndrome (no exercise during the week, followed by intense/peak efforts on the weekend) as counterproductive, is there a downside to changes in the 24 hour schedule?

Is there an ideal schedule?

Circadian Rhythms

Row daily. Your body recovers while you rest. Your body responds and becomes stronger based on how you stimulate it.

The medical community knows much about our daily rhythms.  And they are studying it to understand it better.

Is it an internal clock? Or is it a response to the 24 hour cycle of daylight? It appears a little of both. No question something is going on - just exactly what and how is subject to study.

And is it a 24- hour thing or a long-term thing - consider that one cycle of the rhythm probably only makes sense in the context of a longer whole, a series - in this case, weeks and months.

You do not have to understand the 24-hour clock or bodily rhythm to use it to your advantage. You can do your own study.

Row, lift weights, cycle, run, swim, do something physical that gets you out of breath for an extended period of time.  Then, over time, try missing some days and see how your body responds. Try rowing every day and compare how your body responds. Try rowing more easily or more firmly and see how your body responds.

Row a day for a year (with or without gaps to test the practice) and see how you feel. More on that coming. . .

Older Marathon Runners

Planning to watch the NYC Marathon?

It is becoming more common for older runners to participate.  Not just runners in their 50s, but runners in their 80s and 90s.

This participation by our peers and parents may not be common in the sense of numbers; they are relatively few. But we are beginning to learn and appreciate that continuing to exercise can help us stay active longer. Much longer.

What do they know that we did not know when we were 30 or 40 or 50?

What can we learn from it that we can use to enjoy life longer - not just live longer?

The Pleasure of Breathing

How many ways can we enjoy breathing?

It is a simple pleasure to be able to breathe automatically. No need to pay attention. The diaphragm moves; the lungs inflate; oxygen transfers to the red blood cells and waste products and poisons leave with each exhalation. Most of the time, we are not aware we are breathing.

Surface from a dive underwater and take a breath. Turn the head to the side while swimming and take a breath. It is nice to know at the air/water interface that it is possible to breathe.

Food caught in the throat or temporary spasm or closure of the throat and it feels like you cannot breathe. Does it help to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth? It is a great feeling for the throat to relax and the air to pass, in and out. Not feeding the body but keeping it alert and alive.

In yogic breathing, you may breathe in and out alternately using one nostril and then the other. Fast and shallow. Slow and normal. Either way, what is the experience?

Rowing and warming up, the breath will deepen. The diaphragm will move downward and the gut out more fully, the lungs filling more deeply with air. The number of breaths per minute and per stroke may change. Settling in with your 'second wind,' you may experience a calming of the breath even as you continue to work.

Rowing harder, you reach a point where you are winded, breathing hard, feeling a desire to slow down. That can still be comfortable and yet signal the time for rest  - or least the time to ease back somewhat - is coming.

Rowing harder day to day and week to week, you find you can work harder and still breathe comfortably. You find you enjoy the feeling that, although rowing while somewhat out of breath, you can continue this indefinitely. You are comfortable. You have reached another plateau in your fitness.

Asking the Right Question

We all want to exercise efficiently. If we work hard, we want to see results. If we take a long view, we want eventual progress.

Sometimes people ask questions about the best way to train. Then the discussion focuses on answering the questions. But are we asking the right questions? Or are we getting distracted?

The 9/30/2014 N.Y. Times has a short segment on the following question: If you are going to do some weight lifting and some aerobic/cardio work on the same day, which should you do first? People disagree. They cite a study that says to me, someone is not asking the right question.

For many of us, weight lifting is a resistance exercise that does not rise to the level of heavy, muscle-straining work. For many of us, when rowing or doing other aerobic/cardio work, we do not stretch our limits at the anaerobic threshold.

Isn’t the right (or first) question to ask when considering doing both weights and rowing in one day, “What do I hope to achieve?”  Answering that question involves considering the type of workout I will do. If I plan to row 6k at my absolute limit to the point of exhaustion, I agree I should not lift weights afterwards – I should be in full control when lifting weights. On the other hand, if my row is essentially a warmup for weight lifting, why not do it first.

Similarly, if I intend to lift 3 sets of 10 reps of heavy weights that will take me to the limit, I would not want to attempt a serious row afterwards. On the other hand, an easy row after weight lifting could help my body recover from the tightness and pain resulting from the weight work.

That is a long way of saying, consider what works for you based on your level of fitness and your goals and practices. The experts have many issues to study and some of their work is helpful, but think twice before applying it to yourself.

What is a Moderate Level of Exercise?

To some, the term ‘comfort zone’ sounds like it should involve only minimal activity, perhaps with snacks or hors d’ouevres and a glass of wine. Consider in the context of moderate exercise that the term is used for a range of exertion you would want to repeat the next day rather than fear or avoid. The ‘comfort zone’ can mean many things:

• I am rowing as hard or as easily as I want to at the time;

• I am comfortable according to whatever measure I am using, whether that is my breath or wind, my pulse, my feeling of fatigue, how readily I recover, whether I am enjoying myself, my ability to continue indefinitely, etc.;

• I do not feel a need, a physical pressure to stop;

• I can speak comfortably (or sing along with the music?) while rowing;

• It feels like taking a walk or riding a bike to relax;

And so on.

            The comfort zone can accommodate a wide range of effort. It will not include rowing all out and trying to keep going at that pace (except for the very few and very fit whose goal is to do just that on the day in question). But your comfort zone may include rowing harder than normal for a relatively short period – i.e., doing short intervals with adequate rest between the hard intervals. It may include rowing much harder today than you rowed or could have rowed six months or a year before. It could involve developing so much better wind that it is pleasurable to row out of breath because you know you can keep it up without pain or discomfort. Perhaps most importantly is that the comfort zone for moderate rowing can include rowing hard for those who wish to do so. And that can lead to a dilemma for us as we age:  Can we continue to row as hard as we used to?  Can we maintain the same intensity? Or will we necessarily ratchet back as our bodies age or weaken?

Certainly pay attention to your health and your doctor's advice. And let's compare notes on what works to keep a comfortable level of effort going and what we may need to add to our training regimens to maintain strength and speed.

Death Row, Duluth Style

On September 14, 2014, the Duluth Rowing Club will host a 25k race titled the Death Row.  Now there is an aerobic fitness training event!

According to the  DRC web site (http://www.duluthrowing.org/ ), the winning times in prior years have ranged from just a few minutes over two hours to less than two hours, with other boats finishing with times over three to three and one-half hours.

It looks like anyone can enter, from singles to eights and canoes and kayaks, as well.  But that is a long distance to paddle facing forward!

See you there?

The Perfect as Enemy of the Good

I don't feel like rowing hard, so I will skip today.

I can't row every day this week so I will wait until the weekend.

I only have 30 minutes to exercise, so I will wait until tomorrow.

I missed yesterday so I will skip today.

It is raining, so I will wait.

I am hungry so I will eat before I row.

I am full, so I will wait.

I want to row early in the morning, so I will wait until tomorrow.

I feel too tired to row hard, so I will take the day off. . . and around in circles we go. . .

"In Times of Extremity"

In notes a the end of "Unbroken," Laura Hillenbrand describes the stories she is drawn to by saying, "In times of extremity, ordinary individuals must reach into the depths of themselves, and there they find the true content of their character. Some find . . . wondrous virtues - courage, resourcefulness, self-sacrifice, daring, ingenuity, the will to solder on when will is all they have left. These are the virtues that turn history, and these are the virtues that enable individuals to prevail in the supreme trials of their lives."

A rowing race is a time of "extremity," a time when competitors push their limits, perhaps to the point where "will is all they have left." When we watch sports on TV, we often forget that we are seeing not only a display of skill, but also a display of stamina and will to persevere. When we watch a rowing regatta, the same is true - it is almost impossible to imagine the extremities of fatigue and wind that the competitors are experiencing in the boat as we watch from a chair along the shore.

Is the faster crew winning because of natural physical endowments such as greater size? Or is it more skillful technique? Or is their speed in the second half of the race due more to trained fitness and a highly developed will to persist?

Any rower will tell you, you have to put in the miles on the river in order to have speed in a race. But it is not just miles rowed; it is also the level of effort, the experience of being winded and accepting it and going on regardless. It is experiencing the desire to stop or slow down and developing the mental toughness to continue in spite of that feeling. It is the experience of the mind and guts being stronger than the doubts and fears, and of training through former weakness to a higher level of functioning.  It is training the body and using the body's incredible natural reaction to healthy demands, resulting in increased capability.

Exercise or Just Recreation

When you take a walk is that simply recreation or is it exercise?   What about when you go kayaking? Canoeing? Bicycling? Swimming? Gardening?

Anything we do physically may be beneficial if it puts a demand on our bodies. That stimulus creates an automatic response. And, since the body's response to healthy stimulus is to strengthen the body, to empower the body to do what we have done more easily, the response is usually healthy and supportive of an active lifestyle. But are your activities providing you a helpful stimulus?

I have pointed out that doing pushups is less advantageous than rowing.  Pushups use a limited set of muscles. We do them briefly (not for 30 minutes). Doing pushups rarely gets our pulse up or causes the breath to become deeper for a prolonged period. Doing pushups differs from rowing in these ways and, as a result (I would say), is less positive for health.

At the same time, when you or I hold our body in position to do pushups, we are essentially doing core work at the same time. That is positive and supportive of overall bodily health in a different way than the muscular effort to lower and lift the body. (See section of the book on core work.)

So if we garden or kayak and do not break a sweat or breathe more deeply, it may be that what we are doing during that physical activity is not as efficient or as productive for our health as rowing the same amount of time. But it likely does have positive benefits. What are they? Are you happy with the results as well as the process (what you are doing)?

How do you decide what to do?  To the extent you have time, do it all. Do the chores and simple things that provide enjoyment and some benefit. And then row each day to round out the benefits. Spend some time breathing more deeply and watch how your rowing supports your other activities over time and perhaps the reverse will be true, as well.

Canoe Marathon July 26

As a rower, I tend to think less of other water activities like canoeing and kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. They are nice but less rigorous, etc., I think. They are good for the arms (and core) but do not use the strongest muscles in the legs as rowing does.

But there is a 120-mile canoe marathon you may want to know about, the Au Sable Canoe Marathon:  www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/ .

The course starts at Grayling, Michigan (center of the state) and goes east to Oscoda on Lake Huron.

The 67th running of the race begins at 9 PM (yes - PM) this Saturday, July 26, 2014, with pre-race events and time trials starting the 22nd.

Many of the 80+ two-person canoe teams will finish at Oscoda between 11 AM and 4 PM the next day (current record 13:58:08). That is a lot of canoeing!

There are professional entrants and categories by age group and gender.

Learn more at the web site (above).

What events do you know of or participate in?