Au Sable River Canoe Marathon

The original idea for the race was to attract tourists after Labor Day. From 1947 to 1960 the race was held in August/September with start times of midnight, early afternoon and 9-10pm. Prior to 1968, teams left at timed intervals. For most of the following seven years, all teams began on Saturday morning in Grayling, stopped for the night in Mio, with pro teams resuming the race Sunday morning from Mio to Oscoda. Amateur teams got a head start at Five Channels Dam. ==Race details==

To determine the starting position of the racers for the night of the Canoe Marathon, there is a sprint held to determine which of the teams is fastest or slowest. The sprint trials are held at Penrod's Canoe Livery. The trials are held the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before the race on Saturday. Each team will head upstream one quarter mile towards the Old AuSable Fly Shop. Once there you must complete a counter clockwise turn around a buoy. Then you must head back downstream to the starting point and the next team does not start until the team finishing reaches a point close to the start buoy. On average this can take from 2 minutes and 15 seconds to 5 minutes. The overall finish times range from about 4 minutes and 30 seconds to 13 minutes. While they are on their way back to the starting buoy they must maintain the number of buoys on the left side of their canoe. Once all of the teams have finished the sprint trials they will be lined up in groups of five, from fastest to slowest, on the night of the Marathon, to make the LeMans-style foot race that starts the race. The Marathon starts at 9:00 P.M. in Grayling in a LeMans-style start where the competitors carry their canoes in a footrace four-blocks through town to the Au Sable River entry point. Upon reaching the Au Sable River, they begin paddling non-stop throughout the night. In addition to paddling for 14–19 hours non-stop overnight, competitors must also make portages around six hydroelectric dams along the river race route. To participate in the race the competitor must be at least the age of 15. In order to enter by July 1 there is a $220 fee. To enter by July 15, the fee is $320, and to enter by July 25 the fee is $420. However, the fees are all worth their prices because upon completing the race the canoers are awarded cash prizes. Even if a racer finishes in 40th place, they will receive more than their entry fee. Competitors that finish after 40th place will receive a finishers medal. The race relies on the efforts made by many volunteers, and is organized and ran by an all-volunteer non-profit organization: AuSable River International Canoe Marathon, Inc. ==Docuseries==

A three-part documentary entitled, Au Sable was released in 2024 on YouTube and aired on local public-access TV stations. The production team from Consumers Energy provided assistance, as did the volunteers from the AuSable River Canoe Marathon staff. On June 15, 2024, the project won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Documentary from the Michigan chapter of the organization. ==Festival==

Since 1971, Grayling has held their annual Au Sable River Festival beginning the weekend prior to the race. ==The Triple Crown of Canoe Racing==

The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon is one of the three marathon canoe races comprising the Triple Crown of Canoe Racing which recognizes the top performances by Marathon Canoe Racers who compete at all three of North America's most prestigious marathon canoe races: • General Clinton Canoe Regatta, staged Memorial Day on New York's Susquehanna River - a one-day, non-stop non-stop race from Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, to Bainbridge, New York. • Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, one of North America's toughest, richest canoe races, an overnight, non-stop race from Grayling to Oscoda on Northern Michigan's AuSable River during the last full weekend of July. • La Classique International de Canots de La Maurice, staged Labor Day weekend on central Quebec's majestic Saint-Maurice River - a three-day, three-stage race from La Tuque to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. ==Prizes==

With 2024 prizes exceeding $55,000, ARCM is the richest canoe race in North America. The team that breaks the existing record of 13:54:09 will win a cash bonus of $1,300. • Seniors and Veterans don't qualify for the Master's bonus, and Veterans don't qualify for the Senior's bonus • The team with the fastest split time for each of the 14 checkpoints wins $50 • The team with the fastest point-to-point time for each of the 14 checkpoints wins $50 • $8,000 in finisher's prizes (not cash) will be awarded to race finishers ==Winners==

(Since 1980) * = course record The race record for the current course is 13:54:09, set by Jorden Wakeley of Grayling, MI and Matt Meersman of South Bend, IN in 2021. The record for most wins individually is 18 by Serge Corbin (1977 and 1979 w/ Claude Corbin; 1987–1988, 1990-1992 w/ Brett Stockton; 1994-1995 w/ Solomon Carriere; 1996–2003, 2005 w/ Jeff Kolka). The record for most wins by a team is 10 by Andrew Triebold and Steve Lajoie (2004 and 2008–2015, 2018) ==See also==