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Illinois with Bob Richards
The Birkie of the paddling world: Yes, it's a race, but it's a voyage as well. No one knows that better than Ralph Frese, the founder of the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon that turns 50 on May 20. Paddling continues to enrich the life of Frese as he intends to be at the starting line. Suffice it to say, Ralph has nothing to prove. Now 80, he is a canoeing icon on and off the water. The man has just about done it all when it comes to paddling in Illinois, including founding the Chicagoland Canoe Base store in Chicago 70 years ago. Frese, a member of the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame, resides in Niles, two blocks from the North Branch of the Chicago River. It was back in the fall of 1957 that Frese, who for years had been instructing Boy Scouts on the northwest side of Chicago how to build their own canoes, decided to amp things up with a little race. He decided the Des Plaines River, utilizing its beauty in both Lake and Cook counties, would be the perfect place, and in that first race, 25 boats paddled by Scouts completed the course from Libertyville south to near Prospect Heights. Noting that the water was low that first year, Frese moved the race date to a spring date, the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend, the following year when chances were better for higher water and blooming trees and wildflowers. That's when it's been held ever since, drawing future Olympians and once-a-year paddlers to this popular urban waterway. The race was cancelled in 2004 because the water was too high, even flooding the parking lots, according to Karl Teske, longtime racer and current commodore of the St. Charles Canoe Club. Frese retired as the race's organizer in 1987, and the event has been run by the Des Plaines River Association since then. From a small Scout race, it has evolved into an event that caps entries at 1,000 boats with 22 classes to accommodate canoe and kayak paddlers of all ages and abilities. It's a true celebration of the river, the environment and an active lifestyle. "After doing this 49 times before via one group of committee members or another, we have the race part of it down pretty well," commented current chairman Jack Snarr. "This year, the Upper Des Plaines River Ecosystem Partnership is placing temporary signs along the race course to draw attention to fascinating historical and environmental happenings along the river." The Des Plaines race, which takes participants past forest preserves, golf courses, nature centers and homes, has the distinction of being the largest single canoe and kayak race in the country and the second-oldest behind the AuSable River Canoe Marathon in lower Michigan. "I think it is fabulous to see so many people on the river at one time, young and old, kids with parents – and some of the parent-kid combinations are 80 and 60 years old now, men, women, excellent paddlers and novices – all having fun," said Don Mueggenborg, a past chairman and avid participant who has paddled the race 36 times. "It gets people out paddling, introduces some to the sport, and for others it provides camaraderie. It also calls attention to the fact that you do not have to go far away to find good water to paddle on." This year's edition starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 20, at Oak Spring Road in Libertyville and finishes at Dam No. 2 near Prospect Heights, a distance of 18.5 miles according to new measurements. Eight boats start every two minutes with one required portage at the Ryerson dam, a couple of miles north of the Cook County line. Other small dams can be safely run (unlike the more dangerous Fox River) or portaged depending on the conditions. "It's an amazing event," said Chris Palmquist, who has missed only one Des Plaines since 1990, racing mostly with her husband, Jeff, and winning her (their) category a lot of the time. "Even though it's logistically difficult to get more than a thousand people racing a canoe for 19 miles, point to point in May, these organizers have made it happen. "Part of the appeal is the river – it is beautiful, it's winding, forested, and has challenging currents and fun dams to break things up." From a paddling novice's vantage point, namely mine, the event is fascinating. With all the thousands of runners, cyclists and triathletes in the area, it's fun to see a canoe event draw a similar-sized crowd. The race is to paddling what the American Birkebeiner is to cross-country skiing in that it brings out a broad spectrum of participants. "The Birkie is an event unto itself that inspires and motivates," Jeff Palmquist said. "Yet, the appeal of the Des Plaines is such that Chris and I still carve out time in our busy training schedules, even compromising our performances in other sports, to make sure we are reasonably fit enough to be competitive (at the canoe marathon) each year." A special 50th anniversary celebration, complete with food and entertainment, should persuade many racers to stick around at the finish area. A collection of mementoes and memorabilia from the early marathons will be on display there. If you have something to contribute, e-mail Snarr at lrsnarr@comcast.net. Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable arrived in a canoe in 1779 to establish the first residence of what would become Chicago. Thanks to modern day voyageurs like Ralph Frese, that paddling tradition lives on in the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon. For more information, go to www.canoemarathon.com. Bob Richards is a journalist and advocate for all silent sports. He lives in Villa Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. He can be reached him at bobnanrun@aol.com.
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