On your mark, paddle

'What is the most unique thing in the world? A 5K on the river'

by Linda A. Moore

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee

May 4, 2006

     A quarter-century ago, the promoters of the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race sold the event to the nation's paddlers one race at a time.
     On Saturday, more than 500 canoeists and kayakers are expected on the Mississippi River for the 25th annual edition of this race.
     The 5K race, the largest canoe and kayak race in the South, has been named the Best in America by Paddler magazine and has been featured in Canoe & Kayak magazine and Southern Living.
     "We are an attraction nationally and internationally," said Joe Royer, race director and founder of Outdoors, Inc. "But primarily the goal of the race was to demonstrate recreation on the Mississippi in Memphis."
     Royer got the idea for the race while he and other paddlers trained on the Mississippi for races.
     "We fell in love with the river," he said. "And when Memphis in May was a young festival, we went to them and said, 'What is the most unique thing in the world? A 5K on the river.'"
     Memphis in May no longer includes athletic events, but the race continues to grow.
     From the beginning, Royer promoted the race by passing out postcards at other races where he competed and at industry trade shows.
     As interest in the Memphis race grew, it got more notice within the sport, he said.
     "It's really exciting to kayak on the largest river in North America. It's unique," he said.
     The Memphis race draws its share of well-known paddlers, such as two-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Barton, who has won it four times and holds the course record, said Royer. And Oscar Chalupsky of Durban, South Africa, a 10-time world ocean kayak champion, has competed here.
     Less well-known for their paddling skills, actress Cybill Shepherd and former Memphis mayor Dick Hackett have also participated.
     For the first time, the race will donate money raised to a charity. This year, proceeds will go to The Church Health Center.
     "They're embracing physical activity as preventive medicine, and that was very attractive to us," said Royer.
     The race fits with the goals of The Church Health Center, too.
     "Every dollar we spend in treating disease, we spend a dollar on prevention and keeping people healthy," said Dr. G. Scott Morris, executive director. "Things like the kayak race are ideal for us, and we were excited to be asked to be a part of it."
     The race starts at 10:13 AM with staggered start times for big canoes, single kayaks and teams.
     It starts at the mouth of the Wolf River, moving north onto the Mississippi River and finishing at Jefferson Davis Park.
     It can observed from Greenbelt Park near the start at Mud Island, the Auction Avenue bridge, the parks along the riverfront, and Jefferson Davis Park.
     During the race, barge traffic on the river will be stopped and the Memphis Police Department Harbor Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, and Tennessee State Wildlife Resources Agency will be on duty.
     The race is open to recreational and expert canoeists and kayakers.
     "This is a chance to line up beside these good paddlers and participate yourself," said Royer.
     The first 25 years of the race celebrated river recreation, but Royer plans for the next quarter-century to focus on the quality of the river.
     "The reputation is not only that it's a dangerous river, but that it's dirty," Royer said.
     They'll be asking the city, county and state to focus on that effort.
     "It's not Memphis's total responsibility, and our river sister-cities need to ask the nation to help us clean up the river," Royer said. "And I want Memphis to help set the example."

Canoes, kayaks race today

Gold medal-winning skier Moe to participate

By Bryan Brasher
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee
May 6, 2006

     Around 11:30 a.m. Friday, a small group of avid kayakers stood waiting in the parking lot at Harbor Town Marina for Tommy Moe, the final member of their group, to arrive.
     The kayakers planned to make a practice run on the course for today's 25th annual Outdoors, Inc., Canoe & Kayak Race on the Mississippi River, and Moe was running a few minutes late.
     He finally arrived just before noon with a rock-solid excuse: he had traveled more than 2,000 miles to get here from Alaska, and this is his first trip to Memphis.
     Moe, a gold medal-winning downhill skier in the 1994 Olympics, is the latest in a long line of recognizable faces to travel from far-away lands just to spend 20 minutes paddling on the Mighty Mississippi.
     His presence reinforces the Canoe & Kayak Race's growing reputation as one of the finest paddling events in the country.
     "Skiing and kayaking fit together really well," said Moe, a five-time national championship skier who was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 2004. "During the winter, I spend most of my time skiing. Then when it gets warmer, I'm in a kayak."
     Moe is best known for his performance in the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. He earned a gold medal in the downhill competition and a silver in the Super G event, becoming the first U.S. Alpine skier to win two medals in the same Olympics. A stretch of one Olympic ski course in Lillehammer is still known by Norwegians as the "Tommy Moe Channel."
     Kayaking has always been more of a hobby for Moe. But as a pro-staff athlete for Spyder Ski Clothing, Moe is using his hobby to help the company broaden its horizons.
     "We're really trying to move into other outdoors markets, beyond skiing," Moe said. "Just about everyone who knows anything about canoeing and kayaking knows about this race. So this gives us the perfect opportunity to introduce more people to Spyder."
     Moe practiced Friday alongside another famous Olympian, two-time gold medal-winning kayaker Greg Barton.
     Barton, who has won the Canoe & Kayak Race five times, said he travels to Memphis from his home in Charleston, S.C., for the stiff competition.
     "I've won five times, but I've also finished second twice," said Barton, who holds an engineering degree from the University of Michigan and now designs boats and accessories for Epic Kayaks. "This is a fun event. It's well-organized, and it draws a good group of paddlers. Some excellent competition."
     Among local paddlers competing will be Elmore Holmes, a multi-talented Memphis woodworker and paddler who finished seventh in last year's race. Holmes has finished in the top 10 at the race every year since 1999, including third-place finishes in 2001 and 2002.
     In 25 years, the event has drawn big names from all over the world, including world championships silver medalist Mike Herbert of Rogers, Arkansas; world ocean kayak champion Oscar Chalupsky of Durban, South Africa; and European under-23 champion Ekaitz Sayes of Spain.
     Actress Cybill Shepard also took part in the race once when she was just a budding starlet, along with former Memphis mayor Dick Hackett.
     "It really is gratifying to know that so many people think so much of this race that they're willing to travel from all over the world to compete," said Joe Royer, founder of Outdoors, Inc., and chief organizer of the event. "I truly believe this race has been good for the city of Memphis, and in many ways, good for the preservation of the Mississippi River.
     "We hope it just keeps getting bigger and better."

Gold medalist pulls repeat

Barton wins kayak race for sixth time

By Bryan Brasher
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee
May 7, 2006

     When asked Friday morning how long it would take paddlers to complete the full course at Saturday's 25th annual Outdoors, Inc., Canoe & Kayak Race, organizers offered two estimates: one for Greg Barton and one for the rest of the field.
     They fully expected Barton to pass the finish buoy first--and turns out, they know their racers pretty well.
     Barton, a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning kayaker from Charleston, S.C., finished in 17:06 and won the men's open category of the race for the sixth time in eight tries. His only true competition came from fellow South Carolinian Pete Greene, who finished second in 17:19.
     "It was really a great morning to race," said Barton, who has now won four of the last five Canoe & Kayak Races. "I had a nice tailwind that helped push from behind until I got to the last turn. I also had Pete Greene pushing me pretty hard."
     Greene was pushing Barton--and allowing Barton to pull him.
     The two kayakers broke ahead of the pack from the start with Barton leading from wire to wire.
     Barton pulled away from Greene early and seemed poised to win by a sizable margin. But Greene managed to cut the distance between himself and the leader and even practiced a little drafting, NASCAR-style, to stay within striking distance of the gold medalist.
     "He was riding my wake for quite a ways," said Barton, who set the course record back in 2002 at 15:39. "When we got to the last turn, we were only about a boat length apart."
     Greene said wake-riding helps cut down resistance and makes for easier paddling.
     "For example, if I'm in front as the lead boat, my heart rate may be 165," Greene said. "But if I'm riding his wave, drafting, my heart rate will only be 145. It cuts down on the resistance quite a bit."
     The drafting technique helped Greene save some energy for the stretch run, but Barton had energy in reserve as well. After rounding the final curve, Barton increased his margin from a boat length to about 25 yards when he passed the finish buoy.
     "This race is too long to sprint all the way," Barton said. "You have to save a little bit for the end or someone might get past you."
     Especially in an event as competitive as this one.
     "This race draws some excellent paddlers--not only from the Memphis area, but from all over the country," Barton said. "The great competition is one of the reasons I keep coming here every year."
     Though Greene gave Barton a good run, he said there was no point when felt like he could overtake the champion paddler. Still, he was more than satisfied with finishing second to a gold medalist.
     "I've raced against Greg before, and he's an awesome paddler," said Greene, who won a kayaking event in Hilton Head, S.C., last week. "I was really surprised to do as well as I did."
     Tonya Tittle of Memphis won the women's open kayak class in 23:24. Tommy Moe, an Olympic champion downhill skier who holds residences in Colorado and Alaska, won the men's touring kayak class in 21:10.
     Memphian Martha Kelly won the women's touring kayak class in 24:25.

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