Grand River Canoe And Kayak Race Review

 This was my 4th or 5th time competing in the annual Grand River Canoe & Kayak Race.  Every year the race is a completely different experience due to the weather conditions and river conditions.  This year’s race was limited to 250 participants due to construction at the start line park area.  Pre race conditions were about as nasty as they get with heavy rains, gusting winds, and chilly temperatures in the 40’s  The night before the race the river was running low and slow with an average depth of 2’7″ and a flow rate of 390 ft/s.  Racers were informed that parking would be an issue at the start site due to construction so I planned on arriving very early to secure a good parking spot and avoid having to park off site and be shuttled to the start.  Racers are sent off 3 at a time every minute so arriving early also means you will be in the front of the line to start.  With the nasty rain and weather I wanted to start as soon as possible to avoid standing in the cold rain waiting my turn,  I ended up being one of the first 4 or 5 groups to start which proved to have some advantages and disadvantages.  I huge advantage was I didn’t have to wait in the cold rain to start.  A disadvantage was that after I passed a few slow recreational kayakers in the early miles I paddled most of the race without seeing any other racers to push me.   Another disadvantage to starting early was river was slower and lower.  At the start of the race the depth was 3’5″ with a flow of 857 ft/s  By 10:00 am the depth had increased to 4’1″ and the flow increased to 1,240 ft/s.  So the later a racer started the race the faster the course was.   This gave the late starting racers a significant advantage.

My start was a little slow as I took my time securing my spray skirt and getting adjusted.  With the nasty weather I felt the time spent getting protected from the elements would be worth it and help avoid potential issues later in the race lake hypothermia or a swamped kayak.   I settled in quickly and off I went down the river.  At first my hands were numb from the cold water and wind.  I was wearing fingerless paddle gloves, but did have full gloves ready to go in the pockets of my spray skirt.  After a mile or two my heart rate got up and warmed my hands which saved me time from changing gloves.  As I made my way down the river the wind and strong side currents really pulled at my kayak.  Much of the course features high cliffs on either side of the river making for beautiful scenery.  The heavy rains created beautiful waterfalls everywhere cascading down the high steep cliffs.  Although majestic to look at the water crashing into the river created lots of side current and I found myself exerting a lot of energy corrective paddling to keep my kayak tracking straight.  A highlight of the race was seeing a few bald eagles sore above me around the high cliffs.

Being this was the first time I was in a kayak all year I wasn’t sure how I would feel in the late miles.  I have been training hard with running and did spend a fair amount of time on the row machine over the winter months.  I was surprised that endurance wise I felt fairly strong.  I probably took it a little too easy in the early miles of the race but maybe that paid off in the late miles where I felt fairly fresh and was able to increase my stroke rate and push harder.  During the race I was able to pass every kayak that started with me and in front of me that I could see.  I was passed by 2 speedy canoe tandem teams.  The race finishes with a turn under a bridge, a left turn to the river bank, exiting of the kayak, and then a short sprint across the finish line.  This is always interesting because you never know what kind of shape your legs are in until you exit the kayak.  Most people don’t realize but a lot of power is generated kayaking with your legs.  Mine felt tight and cramped a little but I recovered quickly and made the short sprint to the finish without much problem.  Without having much to go on regarding my pace I wasn’t sure how I actually did.  I was surprised to learn I finished 4th overall in the 14′ and under race and won my age division with a time of 1:21:16.  My finish time was actually the 6th fastest among all single kayaks.  This was my second fastest time completing this race.  Last year was my fastest when the water level was very high and fast.

All racers received really nice finisher medals and t-shirts.   The race was organized by Lake Metro Parks who always does a great job.  They brought back the shuttle service which was awesome and returned racers to their cars at the start area.  They did have a timing glitch with some of the race divisions when handing out awards but they were able to resolve the issue and corrected it.  Race winners received traditional trophies with a canoe mounted on them.  I do find it a little comical to receive a canoe trophy for a kayak race but I am guessing there aren’t any kayak trophy top makers out there.  I loved that they had a timing station at the finish line for racers to get their live race results.  They did have a small concession station set up at the finish for racers to purchase snacks.  Sports drinks and fruit were provided for free at the finish, but I would like to see more free post race snacks available.  The paid concession proceeds went to charity so I certainly understand that.  In years past the paid concessions included grilled hot dogs and hamburgers so that would have been nice to see again.