2025 Sweat Now Wine Later Adventure Race Review

The Sweat Now Wine Later Adventure Race is a short race but one of my favorites.  I have competed in this race probably 6-8 times in the past and previously won it twice.  The race starts and finishes at Gervasi Winery which makes for a beautiful race location and experience.   The race is advertised as a 1.5 mile kayak followed by a 2.5 mile run.  The kayak distance is pretty accurate but I think the run course is more like 2 miles.  The race starts with a short run or walk through a grass field to the waiting kayaks.  All kayak equipment is provided.  It is luck of the draw as to what kayak and paddle you are given.  Most of the kayaks and paddles are similar in size and type, but I always feel like I end up with the slowest kayak and heaviest paddle.   The creek is typically shallow and narrow.  This year it was shallow and slow but mostly manageable.  I hit bottom several times and was often unable to get a full paddle full of water but never got stuck.   I have competed in this race enough time to know to be the first person from my heat to start the race.  This helps to avoid being slowed down when trying to pass less experienced kayakers ahead of me.  There aren’t a lot of areas to pass safely so you can easily lose time if you are unable to pass a slower paddler.  For the most part I had a clear creek to navigate until close to the end when I caught up to and passed 4 paddlers from the previous heat.  I had a fast exit and transition to the run thanks to the enthusiastic volunteers pulling kayaks out of the creek.   There was a water station at the start of the run and I probably would have grabbed a quick drink but the cups were all still in the plastic bag and the water was on the table in gallon jugs.  The final instructions did state it was a self serve water station but I would have expected the water to be in cups ready to grab and go.  Luckily it wasn’t too hot or humid so I skipped it and headed down the trail.  The trail is now paved as it used to be crushed limestone.  I think the fact that it is paved helped to speed up the course.  I had a solid run.  The finish line snuck up on me fast and I feel like I probably could have started my final kick sooner.

Last year I attempted to complete this race with a newly torn plantar fasciitis and barely finished. I showed up this year healthy, well trained, focused, and determined to get back on top of the leaderboard. The creek was shallow making for slower kayak times so I didn’t expect a fast time. I was shocked when I crossed the finish line and learned that I set a new course record and became the first person ever to complete the race in under 32:00. The previous course record was 32:25 and set in 2019 by yours truly when the creek was high and fast. Today I set a new course record of 31:06 and was the overall winner of the race.

All participants received nice newly designed tech shirts, custom finisher medals, a glass of wine, and post race snacks.  Because the race features a staggered start and heats their isn’t much of a post race finish line celebration.  The volunteers and staff working the finish line were enthusiastic and cheered on all finishers.  There were also photographers at the start and finish capturing memories for the participants.

Overall this is a very fun well organized race.  This is a great race for beginners, families, and groups of friends looking for an adventure and reason to go to Gervasi Winery.

Thank you to Canton Parks and Recreation and all of the volunteers who helped put on a great race.