25th
Anniversary Celebration Highlights Charles River Watershed
Association’s
2007 Run of the Charles
Canoe & Kayak Race
WESTON, MA—May 2,
2007—The rain held off as if to honor the 25th
Anniversary Run of the Charles
Canoe & Kayak Race, the signature event of the Charles River
Watershed Association (CRWA).
The Run of the Charles,
showcasing the ongoing improvements to the Charles, drew over
1,250 competitors, more than a hundred volunteers and thousands of
spectators all along the race route on Sunday, April 29 for CRWA’s
annual celebration on the river.
“The Run of the Charles
caps a great week for the Charles River,” said CRWA Executive
Director Bob Zimmerman. “Earlier in April more than 2,000
volunteers came out for our annual Charles River Clean-Up Day.
Between these two events, we had thousands of people demonstrate
their appreciation of the river as a natural treasure well-worth
protecting. You can’t love what you don’t know, so we make an
effort to get people to know the Charles River so they will, in
turn, come to love it and care for it.”
This year’s race featured a gala 25th annual
celebration. At the Finish Line Festival, where all races finished,
day-long activities for the public were held free of charge at
Herter Park on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. The Festival
featured live music by the Dixieland-style New New Orleans Jazz
Band, various food vendors and exhibits from groups such as Aveda,
Atlantic Coastal Kayak, Boston Duck Tours, Charles River Watershed
Association, Keewaydin Foundation, LaraBar, Patagonia, Premium Fun
Foods, Tribal Hummus and REI.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, the Charles
River Watershed Association partnered with the MIT Museum, Harvard
and MIT Universities, Cambridge Public Schools and Libraries, WGBH
and the Boston Science Museum to host a Science Theme Park. Since
working with the Division of Marine Fisheries to introduce 1.5
million Shad fish into the Charles last spring, CRWA has launched a
campaign to "ADOPT a SHAD". This campaign was introduced to new
supporters at the Finish Line Festival with colorful “shad” balloons
and details on the effort.
An exhibition and
videos housed in a Boston Duck Tours boat featured the perilous
journey of migratory fish in the Charles as they travel to the
ocean. Visitors examined specimens of preserved fish and learned
how fish navigate dams. They learned of recent efforts by CRWA and
others to restore native river fish in the Charles, including the
introduction of the aforementioned 1.5 million juvenile shad to the
river.
The Charles River
Watershed Association initiated the
Run of the Charles to celebrate its work in cleaning up
the Charles River. CRWA blends science, advocacy and legal expertise
to develop real solutions to environmental problems. Because of
CRWA’s efforts, herons and herring are now repopulating the river
and its shores, the Zakim Bridge stands as a new Boston landmark,
and new development is being planned with the river’s best interest
in mind.
Zimmerman
expressed his appreciation for the support and assistance of the
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) which
“makes this great event happen.” Zimmerman also praised Charles
River Canoe & Kayak which clears the river, arranges boat rentals
for many of the competitors, monitors safety concerns, and provides
race officials.
“Without the
support and dedication of our corporate sponsors,” Zimmerman said,
“we could not enjoy this wonderful day on the river.” He thanked
the sponsors of the Run of the
Charles including Boston Duck Tours, Community Newspaper
Company, Charles River Canoe & Kayak, Canoe & Kayak Magazine,
Charles River Boat Company, Mirant Corporation, BSC Group, Charles
River Saab, Haley & Aldrich, Keewaydin Foundation, Boston Ski &
Sports Club, Patagonia, REI, Sea Kayaker Magazine, SR Weiner/WS
Development, SignArt, Building #19, LaraBar and the Parrot Head Club
of Eastern Massachusetts.
“We are also grateful to the Amateur Radio Relay League for
providing the ham radio operators, who sent information from ten
sites along the river to race officials and emergency staff at the
Finish Line, and the American Red Cross of Massachusetts, who were
on hand for any first aid emergencies.
“While the
Run of the Charles draws
many of North America’s best paddlers, it also brings out the best
volunteers,” Zimmerman added. CRWA’s
Stream Team volunteers,
Parrot Head Club members, Boston Cares, Young Alumni Volunteer
Association, Boy Scouts and community-minded individuals are
credited with keeping the Run of
the Charles organized, fun, safe, and rewarding for
everyone who participates. “The volunteers do it all, in good
weather and bad,” he said, “We’re just happy it was good weather
this year! From blowing up balloons, directing canoe & kayak
traffic, processing registrations, handing out water, and cheering
on the racers…our volunteers are the friendly faces the racers see,”
Zimmerman concluded, “and they help bring our paddlers back to the
Run of the Charles
year after year.”
The
Run of the Charles
builds support for the Charles River Watershed Association which
seeks to protect and enhance the health, beauty and enjoyment of the
Charles River and its tributaries. CRWA’s prominent role in
protecting and restoring the Charles River since 1965 accounts for a
much healthier Charles River today.
The team of Serge
Corbin of Quebec, Canada and Steve Corlew or Grayling, MI, paired up
to take first place in the
26-mile $5000 Professional Flatwater Canoe Marathon with
a time of 3:15:07, a whole 15 minutes faster than last year’s
first-place team.
Among the most
challenging features of the Run
of the Charles are the six portages where boats must be
carried around an obstruction. The dams in Newton, Wellesley,
Waltham and Watertown forced paddlers off the river and onto their
feet, shouldering their boats while they ran to the spot where they
could get back on the water and resume paddling. Paddlers raced
across Route 16 on the Newton-Wellesley line and across Moody St. in
Waltham, running for nearly a ½ mile on each of these portages
alone.
In the
24-Mile Relay Race, the
Quinobequin Canoe Club posted the winning time for the fifth year in
a row, finishing the 5-leg, 10 person relay in 3:36:58, 23 minutes
faster than their winning time of last year. The MassLakes.com
Snoopers took back their title by placing first in the Corporate
Relay with a time of 3:45:00, beating out 49 other company boats.
In the
19-Mile Races, the
fastest boat was a kayak paddled by Erik Borgnes of Sturgeon Bay,
WI, who crossed the finish line in 2:18:21.
Graeme Rockett of
Swampscott blasted the competition in the
9-Mile Races for the
third year in a row, posting a winning time of 1:12:14 in his
Olympic K-1 kayak. Grayson Bourne won the 6-Mile Race in an Olympic
kayak, with a finish of 49:52.
Skip Farkas of
Marlborough, MA, won the We-no-nah Aurora canoe in the raffle.
Farkas has volunteered at the race’s First Aid station for the past
10 years. Upon hearing of his win, he was “stunned and amazed”….he
loves this event and said he was just buying the tickets to support
the event. He never imagined he would win. He’s looking forward to
canoing with his family, including his grandchildren and dog.
Kathy Manizza of
Bolton, CT, won the FeatherLite 9.5 Heritage Kayak in the raffle.
Manizza, who has paddled in the
Run of the Charles 10 times now, entered the 19-Mile
Women’s category. Manizza “loves this race” and expressed her
appreciation for all that the volunteers do for the paddlers along
the course.
Charles River
Watershed Association advocates for stronger government policy to
protect the Charles, monitors the health of the river’s waters and
wildlife habitats, and protects water supplies from unmitigated
withdrawals. The work of CRWA encompasses all 80 miles of the
Charles River, which meanders through 35 eastern Massachusetts towns
and cities within 308 square miles of the Charles River watershed.
The nearly 1.5 million citizens who live in the watershed, totaling
23% of the state’s population, benefit from a clean and healthy
Charles River. CRWA’s successes have led many organizations across
the country to emulate their science methods and watershed
management tools.
For more
information or full results from the
Run of the Charles Canoe
& Kayak Race, please visit
www.charlesriver.org. To become a sponsor of next year’s
Run of the Charles Canoe
& Kayak Race, please contact (508) 698-6810 or
rotc@crwa.org.