Volunteers Direct the Action at the Run of the Charles Canoe & Kayak Race Portages Challenge Paddlers to Navigate Roads And River Weston, MA-March 29, 2006-Volunteers find themselves in the thick of the action at the Run of the Charles Canoe and Kayak Race which annually attracts thousands of paddlers and spectators. The 24th annual race, set for Sunday, April 30, 2006, is a benefit for the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA). The
Run of the Charles Canoe & Kayak Race showcases the ongoing
improvements in the Charles River while drawing approximately 1500
paddlers and thousands of spectators to enjoy a day on the river.
The race features paddling races for all skill levels, from expert to
novice. The $5,000 Professional Flatwater Canoe Marathon draws
elite paddlers from across the United States and Canada. The
24-Mile Canoe Relay Race draws corporate and college teams, and the
19-Mile, 9-Mile, and 6-Mile races bring out recreational paddlers aged
11 and up. Races
start in Dedham, Needham, Newton, and Brighton, MA. All races
finish at DCR's Herter Park on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton where
race fans and families can enjoy a day of music, refreshments,
exhibits, raffle drawings, picnics and awards at the Finish Line
Festival. It
takes more than 150 volunteers to make the Run of the Charles Canoe
and Kayak Race run smoothly. Volunteers staff 11 different sites
along the race route and help in a variety of ways....everything from
registration, to assisting the official race timer, to cheering on the
racers. While
volunteers for this biggest paddle sports race in the northeast stay
on dry land, they are often surprised to see the paddlers join them on
the river banks. Six dams obstruct the Charles River on its
24-mile route from Dedham to Boston, requiring that paddlers spend
some of their race time running around the dams while carrying their
boats. These portages in the race range from a 200-yard run to a most
challenging ½ mile, boat-shouldering sprint. One
of the most exciting sites for volunteers and spectators is at
Cordingly Dam near Route 16 on the Newton/Wellesley line.
Charles Suprin of Lowell has been the Lead Volunteer at this site for
a few years. One of the special challenges of this site, which
requires at least 30 volunteers to help staff it, is that Cordingly
Dam is both a check-in site for the 24-Mile Relay Race and the longest
portage site for all the paddlers. Race
volunteers direct the paddlers along Walnut St., then onto busy Route
16/Washington St. where they jog past shops and spectators, trying to
keep their kayaks or canoes from falling or hitting trees, light-poles
or fellow-paddlers! Racers have to wait for the police to stop
traffic, then charge across Route 16 and through the long parking lot
to the riverbank where they put their boats back in and resume
paddling downstream of Cordingly Dam's churning white water.
While some volunteers are busy checking in paddlers for the 3rd
leg of the 24-Mile Canoe Relay, others line the route cheering on the
paddlers and hanging the blue balloons that point them in the right
direction. This year, Suprin will be assisted by a group of
local boy scouts as well as other dedicated volunteers. "This
year, the Run of the Charles Canoe and Kayak Race celebrates
its 24th year as the biggest and best canoe and kayak event
in New England," said Bob Zimmerman, Executive Director of the
Charles River Watershed Association. "This event would not
be possible without the hard work and dedication of all our great
volunteers." "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, 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, 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." Not
only do volunteers get the satisfaction of helping such a worthy
cause, they also receive a free race t-shirt along with other goodies.
All
races finish at the free Finish Line Festival which hosts day-long
activities for the public at Herter Park on Soldiers' Field Road in
Brighton. The Festival will feature music by the Dixieland-style
New New Orleans Jazz Band, back by popular demand, while the crowds
can watch the races and check out the many displays. A Boston
Duck Tours "duck boat" will be on shore for guests to climb
aboard. Building #19, the official water-supplier of the race,
will once again donate bottles of "Charles River Spring
Water" (bottled in the Adirondacks!) to promote support for CRWA
and its protection of the river. McDonald's will provide free
samples of their new "Newman's Own" coffee. Sponsors of the Run of the Charles include Boston Duck Tours, Community Newspaper Company, Charles River Canoe & Kayak, Charles River Boat Company, Mirant Corporation, BSC Group, Haley & Aldrich, Keewaydin, McDonald's, Patagonia, REI, Sea Kayaker Magazine, SR Weiner/WS Development, Building 19 and the Parrot Head Club of Eastern Massachusetts. 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. 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 river. Volunteers
are still needed! For
more information or to register for the 2006 Run of the Charles
Canoe & Kayak Race, please call (508) 698-6810 or email rotc@crwa.org.
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