Briana Fitzgerald and the Michigan Marathon

Hello NYMCRA members. Most of you know me, I'm Briana Fitzgerald. Last season I completed my first AuSable Marathon with Jeff DeFeo from Massachusetts. It was a wonderful experience. Michigan takes canoeing to a whole new level I've never experienced on the East Coast. Jeff DeFeo is a seasoned AuSable competitor and knows all the ins and out. He was a great person to stick by in an unfamiliar community. This was my first time in Grayling, but they are so welcoming to all the paddlers, I felt like part of larger family.

Everyone told me that the moment right before the start gun goes off is the most exhilarating and unique experience. They were right, it was unbelievable. It was silent, you could feel the tension and adrenaline accumulating in the humid July air. Once the gun goes off and you’re running to get into the water, try to take a glimpse at the spectators across from the boardwalk. I was awed at how many people were wildly cheering us on. Their support stretched into the cold hours of the night as well. Hearing them cheer when you started to feel tired or daze off was the best motivator.

I loved the upper section of the AuSable. It was narrow, shallow, twisting water which is my favorite. Plus, it was easy running this section because I saw this section in the daylight during Spike’s C1 and C2 races. As night fell, racers turned on their boat lights and shadows of paddlers and boats were projected onto the trees ahead. The shadows were unsettling and awing. At one point, Jeff and I were ahead of a pack or 12 to 15 boats. As all their lights bounced around, the dynamic shadow was a mammoth beast of paddling arms and bobbing heads.

With the night, along came the cold damp fog. This year the temperature dropped significantly during the night. At Mio my pit crew gave Jeff and I new shirts. It was a great decision, putting on a dry shirt was so great, I didn’t notice how cold I was from the fog clinging to me. Speaking of the fog, it was a make or break for a lot of teams. Some suffered from motion sickness, others could easily get lost if they didn’t have a GPS track. I nearly followed a Canadian team into shore because the fog was blocking the view downstream. Another common night issue is that your boat light could run out of battery. Luckily there was a full moon that allowed us to run many sections without a light because the river was fog-free and calm.

Coming over Alcona Dam the fog was now had an orange tinge instead of the gray-white that I grew accustomed to. The sun shone down and I got a new burst of energy around 14 hours in. We rode along with a few mixed boats, but we felt like we just were going to ride to the end together and be satisfied. But as high noon was approaching, boats just started popping out of nowhere. Men’s teams got their deep water second wind and pushed to cruise past us.

One particular men’s team was flying! I was hallucinating now. I thought I was dreaming about the AuSable. Jeff put in some good strokes to get us on their wave. I forced myself to snap on their stern wake, it kept me focused and awake in my low hours. By staying glued to their tail, Jeff and I gained 4 positions over Foote Pond.

We were happy with how many places we climbed in the deep water where a mixed team could easily lose many places to men’s teams. We thought we could just cruise into the finish. Little did we know we were being chased by another men’s teams. We had two men’s teams ahead of us, one of which were the angels we waked, and one I could just spot as I turned my stiff neck to check behind us. We ended up sprinting to the finish. Our sprinting pack finished with 13 seconds between the first and last. Jeff was ecstatic about our finish, he started talking times and water levels. We finished 39^th out of 67 finishing teams with a time of 16:49:53. I was just so happy that I finished my first marathon and didn’t run into any real issues.

Knowing that I was able to successfully complete the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, 120 miles, through the night, nonstop, was such a milestone for my canoeing career. I used to tell myself as a kid that doing the AuSable was a rite of passage to be a “real” marathon canoe racer. (And let me give credit where it’s due: None of this would’ve been possible without an amazing pit crew and partner, thank you!) I know it’s not for everyone, but for me, my greatest canoeing achievement is being able to say I finished the AuSable. I don’t want to stop there, I plan to do other major canoe races in the future. Marathon canoe racing is the sport that I plan on growing with my whole life.