Wabash River Run Race Report 8.24.24
I didn’t make this event, as there was no way I was going to arise at 4 am for much of anything, but that didn’t seem to hinder the race by much; they had over 100 registrations and I believe 96 participants!!! It was a rather warm day, but that didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants, as everyone reported they had fun. I did hear that the “pro” kayak races were quite competitive. Pieter Visser took first with a smoking fast time, and Bill Kanost made that Falcon run for a solid second place. But not far behind, Jon Henderson was working hard to overcome some pain to make it into the top 3, overtaking Ted Beatty after Ted cramped up. Apparently Brent and Matt Conrad had a very competitive race, as Brent overcame Matt by just 11 seconds! Lori and Deb looked to be fairly competitive, with Deb taking the lead between them. Roger followed up a bit later with a still very solid time.
Only 3 “pro” canoes were represented (I guess I should have come; would have definitely been in the top 4!), but Tom Thomas, Larry Swift, and Craig Shaffer all put in very solid performances. Seems to me I heard that the race paid out cash to the top 5 places, so it looks like these three now have to declare themselves to be pros and no longer qualified for the Olympics (if they still require amateur status…).
Congratulations to all! Results and a picture I snatched from the Facebook page are attached. I’ll leave it to Brent Ernsberger to work out the particular classes, as I don’t know all the boats each one paddled.
Steve
