I wasn’t able to make the Sugar Creek Race this year, but it seems quite a few of our racers did, even with the threat of rain. I understand the water levels and the current were higher than usual, leading to some good times. Not that there weren’t frustrations as well… In talking with several participants, the feelings about the race were varied. Don Walls showed up with his River Hawk OC1 and set a smoking course time of 2 hr and 5 minutes (course was GPS’d at 16.0 miles). I don’t know if that’s a record for this course, but it definitely has to be one of the fastest times in recent memory! Betsy Arnold came out planning to run the short course, but apparently her competitive nature took hold when she found out Brent was running the long course in a down river boat, and she did too – and did quite well! Betsy, Vicki, and Lori all ran pretty close and stayed within sight of each other, with Betsy holding the lead by a couple of minutes. On the flip side, there were some frustrations, as Kyle related that he and Skeet Craig were running neck and neck until both hit a boulder about 100 yards from the finish. Looks like they still finished within 8 seconds of each other, Kyle eking out the win. But Brent Ernsberger had the most frustrating race. He got stuck on top of two rocks in rapids, cracking the hull. That, in turn, permitted enough water to come in that resulted in him tipping over 5 times and having to dump out his kayak another 3 times. He was whipped by the end of the race. I am assuming Brent felt the need to take on my title of biathlon champion since I wasn’t there. Roger and Terry paddled the shorter race, as their years has given them a healthier dose of wisdom. I understand the rains came in about halfway through the race, giving some visibility challenges to those wearing glasses.
Many thanks to Cindy Woodall and her team for putting on another great running of the Sugar Creek classic!
Results are attached.
Steve
Photo below is from Kyle Wills on Facebook
