Ausable canoe marathon

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Andy Triebold of Spring Arbor (01) and his stern partner Steve Lajoie of Mirabel Quebec get to the river first at the 9pm start of the 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon in Grayling, Michigan on July 24, 2010. A record 94 teams lined up to paddle the 120 miles from Grayling to Oscoda. The winning team will finish around 11am Sunday in Oscoda. (MARK BIALEK/Special to the Detroit News)

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7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Brothers Rod (bow) and Ryan Halstead paddle past a crowd of fans just before midnight. They were running in 2nd place but had to drop due to injury. (MARK BIALEK/Special to the Detroit News)

072410-ausable-marathon-start.jpg

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Fans pack the top of McMaster's Bridge, about 3 hours into the race. (MARK BIALEK/Special to the Detroit News)

072410-ausable-marathon-start.jpg

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Feed teams tend to canoes as they put back in the river after portaging Mio Dam about 6 hours into the race. (MARK BIALEK/Special to the Detroit News)

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Andy Triebold of Spring Arbor (bow) gets the traditional celebratory splash by his partner, Steve Lajoie of Mirabel, Quebec as they take the win with a time of 14 hours, 17 seconds. (Photo by Mark Bialek)

Jeff Kolka (bow) and Serge Corbin ruled the marathon for many years.

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Jeff Kolka of Grayling (boat 16) powers his canoe with stern partner Serge Corbin of St. Boniface Quebec past bow paddler Andy Triebold of Spring Arbor (01) and Matt Rimer of Horton in the final seconds of the 58th AuSable Canoe Marathon Sunday in Oscoda. After a furious 100-yard sprint, capping nearly 15 hours of paddling, Kolka and Corbin took first place by a split second and captured their 9th championship together, regaining the title over Triebold who won in 2004. (Photo by Mark Bialek)

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Diehard fans wave to paddlers as they cross Alcona Dam at sunrise. (Photo by Mark Bialek)

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. Nick Walton of Grayling drags his 18.5-foot carbon fiber canoe down Cooke Dam. Nick and his partner Josh Sheldon finished 3rd with a time of 14 hours 39 minutes. (Photo by Mark Bialek)

072410-ausable-marathon-start.jpg

7/24/10 -ALL - The 63rd annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon took place in Grayling, Michigan on July 24 and 25th, 2010. A record 94 teams began with a Lemans-style running start, portaging 6 dams and paddling 120 miles to the finish in Oscoda Sunday. A pack of canoes paddles across Mio Pond under the moonlight. (MARK BIALEK/Special to the Detroit News)