By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Bancroft Community Transit was the beneficiary of the proceeds from the North of 7 River Runn that was back this year on July 25 and 26 for the third year since COVID-19. Before that, it had been held yearly since 2013 after another hiatus. The results for the 6 kilometre Camp and Cottage Challenge, the 12 kilometre open for all and provincial races and the 24 kilometre open for all and provincial races can be found at the North of 7 River Run Facebook page at www.facebook.com/northof7riverrun. Organizers Don Stoneman, Craig Creighton and BCT executive director Gwen Coish comment on this yearly fundraising event.
Stoneman told The Bancroft Times last year that there was a canoe race known as Baptiste to Bancroft that took place on the lake and river back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He recalled that it began at Birchcliffe Lodge and finished downtown. He said that locals brought it back in 2013 and it was rebranded North of 7 River Run around 2017.
“Sometime around then it was decided not to race on the lake any more because of the boat traffic and reduced accessibility to the portage trails downstream from High Falls,” he says.
The race is billed as the provincial championship for the Ontario Marathon Canoe Kayak Racing Association. All registration fees other than that required to cover insurance went to BCT as they did the past two years. Stoneman said last year that he has nothing to do with how proceeds of this event are distributed.
“I'm just glad to be able to make a contribution to the community here which I have become enamoured with since we moved here full-time in 2021,” he says.
Stoneman said they chose a late July date this year versus late August, because they thought they'd be able to get paddlers our from some of the camps as well as the cottagers and other in traditional, not racing canoes, but that did not turn out. Stoneman told The Bancroft Times prior to race weekend that the starts and finishes, as usual, are all at Riverside Park.
“Saturday, we paddle upstream 6 kilometres to a buoy sort of in the woods up there and return. I measure the course with a GPS so the distance is fairly accurate. There will be a motorboat there. Sunday's races start and finish at Riverside but this year the river is clear and paddlers should be able to go all the way to a buoy behind Herschel Firehall and return. That's considered to be 24 [kilometres]. I have been on the river the last couple of nights. The water level is lower than it has been a lot of this spring. There is some current coming down High Falls. You can tell by how the long grass is laid flat in the water. Dodging the strongest currents on the way up and finding them and riding them on the way down is part of the skill set required and a lot of fun. On Sunday, volunteers are helping from Hastings Destination Trails Inc, which promotes non-motorized trail culture in the county. It fits in well with what we are doing. I haven't been tracking [entries] yet. Last year we had about 30 entries over the two days. I don't know what to expect with rainy weather predicted. At least it looks like we aren't going to have a lot of smoke like last week,” he says.
Stoneman said that a feature of this year's event is a portage about 8 kilometres upstream from the start.
“A log jam has completely blocked the river (this happens a lot by the way). There's a portage trail on the west side now, created for this event,” he says.
However, the reduced number of entrants this year did not seem to mind this new feature, with one of them joking post race that it had been a good opportunity to “go for a swim.”
OMCKRA stands as the premier Provincial Ontario Sport Organization dedicated exclusively to the advancement of Marathon Canoe and Kayak Racing. As an esteemed member of the Marathon Canoe Racing Council, operating within the overarching structure of Canoe Kayak Canada, OMCKRA embodies the Marathon discipline within Canoe Kayak Ontario. For more information, go to www.omckra.com, or email info@omckra.com.
Saturday's 10.5 kilometre races consisted of the following racers; Craig Creighton (Stock C1) with a time of 1:24:30, Stan Anuesiewicz (Pro C1) with a time of 1:13:34, Mark Kulas (Fast Kayak) with a time of 1:05:11, Andre Zoubakine (HPK) with a time of 1:06:52, Jeff Brainard (Kayak) with a time of 1:07:15, Audra Nicholson (Pro C1 W) with a time of 1:12:06, Iain Craig and Evan Welburn (Rec) with a time of 1:19:56 and Alison Sandeman with a time of 1:39:09 K3.
The participants in Sunday's 24 kilometre race were; Audra Nicholson and Dean Coulson (Mixed Pro C2) with a time of 2:30:42, Alison Sandeman (K1 Women) with a time of 4:05:10 K3, Andre Zoubakine (HPK) with a time of 2:48:42, Dean Brown and Dave Johnston (Men's Pro C2) with a time of 2:33:04, Chris Veldman (HPK) with a time of 2:59:54, Jeff Brainard and Rob Ross (K2) with a time of 2:29:52, Dan Mallett and Mike D'Abreu (Men's Pro C2) with a time of 2:34:51, Chris Pfaff and Kim Pfaff (Stock C2) with a time of 2:36:28, Sophie Coupal and Bonnie Pankiw (Women's Pro C2) with a time of 2:33:40, and Craig Creighton and Stan Anuesiewicz (Men's Pro C2) with a time of 2:44:50 C14.
Jeff said the race had been fun, and that the river was very challenging.
“It was my first time, so a really nice river. Lots of shallows, really tight turns, and a small portage around the log jam. It was good,” he says.
Dean Coulson said the race had gone well for him, even though he ran out of fluid halfway.
“So I backed off and made sure that nobody was coming. Keep it together and get finished. That's the big thing. Just make sure nobody's going to catch you. I kept like half decent power but not like full power. So, we raced in Michigan last weekend and I took a boat that's really fast but it doesn't work well in the shallows and it was all shallows like a foot deep. Today I brought a different boat which is better in the shallows and it worked good up there. Every time we popped a shallow, other teams were falling farther back,” he says.
Iain Craig, who was there with fellow racer Evan Welburn, said it was their second time at the race as they missed last year.
“I've paddled on this before on other races, back when they had killer swans. We started in Betsy's Lake and the race organizers said part way down you'll see a sign that says beware of killer swans. And everybody laughed. And down there, just past the sign, out they came, protecting their nests. And they were tapping at the back of my boat. I was in a single boat. And we finished right here in Bancroft, but that's a long time ago,” he says.
Creighton told The Bancroft Times that what truly makes these races comradely (brothers-in-arms) of those that have weathered the test of time.
“Each and every veteran of this sport brings to me memories of people, places and events that have etched a permanent place in life. Completing these races is an overwhelming accomplishment for even the best and youngest of athletes. With the completion of each event, I am still in awe that I can still do it. Having said this, there are many in this sport over 70 years old, still holding their own on the podium. Day after day, month after month, year after year, the cottagers see these crazy old people paddle at a high rate of speed, oblivious to the distance covered. From two to 16 hours in a race, no one really knows, but the family, friends and competitors of the hardship and elation experienced by the marathon paddler. My life has been blessed by this sport and the opportunity to compete in my own home town of Bancroft is a life's dream come true. ‘Eye of the Tiger' could be played each time ‘dad' comes home, flops on the floor to stretch his back and gobble down as much fat, sugar and salt laced foods that his body now lacks. Yes, at 70 my life still embraces this sport and after over 120 marathon races, I'm still there. I'm still there!” he says.
Stoneman told The Bancroft Times that his favourite moment of the event was at the finish, before the awards, when he heard everyone talking and sharing stories about the race and the race course.
“That's when you know everybody had a good time. The turnout was slim. Two crews showed up from the Ottawa-Gatineau area and that was a big boost. A couple from Port Perry. Another team from Hamilton and Sarnia. These are people who had not competed against each other earlier in the season so it was a bit of an unknown, as was the race course for them. The portage was not part of the race description, so that was a surprise for them but necessary as the river was completely blocked about 4 kilometres downstream from South Baptiste Lake Road,” he says.
Coish told The Bancroft Times that it was definitely a quieter year as they didn't add their races in this year alongside the OMCKRA race, but it was good to see some old faces and some new faces this year.
“The weather was perfect and everything went off without a hitch. Everyone enjoyed the paddle on the York [River]. When our team met to plan this year, we wanted to try a new race (Prospectors' Challenge), but we struggled to find a weekend that would work for both races. The Prospectors' Challenge is something new and as we were planning, we realized it could be something really special, we just needed more time to plan. Our team will be meeting this fall to start to plan for the new Prospectors race for 2027. It is going to be a race that has both paddling and on land challenges, you have to get out of your boat to do the challenges, and we will have prizes for winners etc. We aren't sure yet if the races will be on the same weekend next year or if we do multiple weekends,” she says. “Stay tuned!”
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SluglineLJI-Ont-Northof7RiverRunbackforthirdyear
SubjectOntarioRecreation
