Boston is one of the best sports towns in America complete with Super Bowl and World Series Championships, Stanley Cup Contenders, the Boston Marathon, Head of the  Charles(rowing), and of course the Run of The Charles. While the ROTC is not as spectacular as these events, it is yet another great family event that marks the beginning of spring. My son Tyler and his friend Jen who live only a few miles from the start came down to cheer me on. As I rounded a turn before going under the Eliot Bridge, I recognized my cheering section, Betsy, Tyler, Jen, and Leslie Chappell, Chris’s wife, yelling and taking photos.  It also was a family event for Eric Costanzo with his four kids making the trek from New Jersey. Eric’s son Dylan, was in the 6 mile race competing in his second race of the season. Congrats to Dylan! What a feeling to be in the same race as your son or have your son cheering you on reversing the roles for me when I use to cheer Tyler in all his games.

Betsy, Tyler, Wesley

Betsy, Tyler, Wesley

Eric's crew!!

Eric’s crew!

Dillion and Eric pre Race

Dylan and Eric pre Race

SurfskiRacing.com

SurfskiRacing.com Team

Start of Rotc

Start of Rotc, Eric Costanzo foreground

Start of Rotc

Start of Rotc,SurfskiRacing.com

Family event does not mean non-competitive, far from it, this was the most competitive 6 mile race ever. Over the years many of us have opted for the easier 6 mile race vice the long death march of the 19 mile race with six portages. There are still some holdouts and they need to be congratulated for the mere finishing the event. Others racers are out to prove a point this year like Borys Markin. Borys holds the 19 mile record, but decided this year  not only to win the 19 mile race but also win the 6 mile race. While Borys holds the course record, long time ROTC Legend, Bill Baker, holds the record for the most times completing the 19 mile course. Bill, despite having some difficulties on the course this year was determined in his resolve to finish yet another ROTC 19 miler.  Bill is an inspiration to us all.

Bill Baker still going strong as ever!!!

Bill Baker, 2012 start of the 19 miler

 

Bill Baker, ROTC Legend, 2012

Bill Baker, ROTC Legend, 2012

There was a discrepancy in Borys’ 6 mile finishing time placing him initially five minutes ahead of second place finisher Greg Lesher which was not correct. After sorting it out with race director Mark Jacobson, Borys was indeed the winner of both races nipping Greg at the finish. In typical Borys fashion, he started the six mile race at a leisurely pace approximately four minutes behind the leaders at mile 3, often waiting for Beata who was competing also in the six mile race. Bory’s passed me once on the way to the first turn with Beata not too far back of me. During this passage, I said ‘Borys, how about pulling me to Craig Impens?”, the next boat in front of me by 20 seconds. No Deal. Borys then slowed because he passed me again after the turn, with the throttle wide open! I thought foolishly I might be able to draft him for more than 15 seconds, ” not happening”, not even for a second!  Borys then weaved his way up through the pack.  Chris, with some reserve horse power, was able to sit on Borys wash for a full 1.10 minutes before red lining.  This was just enough, however to widened the gap Chris has on Craig.

 

Wesley, C2, Eric, Beata

Wesley, C2, Eric, Beata, SurfskiRacing.com

In Greg’s write up he will continue the Bory’s tale. My tale was trying to close on Craig while holding of Eric. I did not realize how close Eric was until I saw the photos. As you can see he was only a few boat lenghts behind while Beata was just a few behind him. As we approached the start line on the leg back, Eric tried to pass me in the middle of the river while I moved closer to the right bank to get out of the current. By doing this I was able to hold Eric off, benefitting also from the gel I had two minutes before. Unlike at the Narrow River race a few weeks ago, I paused for a gel, and could not get back on Eric’s wash. So today’s gel infusion paid off.

Greg and Borys at Eliot Street Bridge. Photo Surfskiracing.com

Greg and Borys at Eliot Street Bridge.Surfskiracing.com

My initial strategy as discussed with Chris was to go out very hard and stay with Chris for as long as I could. That did not happen. After about 30 seconds in the first turn, someone pushed my stern forcing me well over to the left, not that I was going to catch Chris anyway. So the top paddlers in our area are picking up where they left off last year with Greg, Jan, Flavio looking even more fit than last year. Borys will have to wait until the bigger races for more competition. Thanks to Betsy and Leslie for taking all the great pictures.

The Essex River Race is in two weeks and that is one of the best attended races of the year, almost a sprint at 5 miles.  After Essex we leave the flat water racing and get on the bay and ocean. Yeah! This was the third race of the SurfskiRacing.com Race Series sponsored by Vaikobi. I am now a Vaikobi dealer and will have a site up in the next few weeks to sell this high quality performance paddling clothing so look for that and more in the next month.

Chris, C2, Andrius

Chris, C2, Andrius

Jan(3rd),Borys(1st),Greg(2dn),Flavio(4th),Wesley(8th), Chris(5th)

Jan(3rd),Borys(1st),Greg(2nd),Flavio(4th),Wesley(8th), Chris(5th)

 

Chris and Leslie Chappell, Betsy Echols, Ted Van Dusen

Chris and Leslie Chappell, Betsy Echols, Ted Van Dusen

Leslie Chappell’s Pics

 http://1drv.ms/1hDOB2x

If you want to use any of our pictures for commercial use, please contact, Wesley Echols, SurfskiRacing.com

Betsy Echols’ Pics

https://plus.google.com/photos/111670948231605580163/albums/6007314144802733329

 

32nd ANNUAL RUN OF THE CHARLES

CANOE AND KAYAK RACE
April 27, 2014 Charles River, Mass.
Timing by Granite State Race Services www.gsrs.com (see our Calendar of Races) bt@gsrs.com
==========================================================================================

************************************
* 6 MILE OVERALL RESULTS *
************************************

Place Name No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 BORYS MARKIN 86 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 49:45
2 GREG LESHER 17 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 49:48
3 JAN LUPINSKI 56 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 51:21
4 FLAVIO COSTA 50 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 51:56
5 CHRIS CHAPPELL 48 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 52:10
6 ANDRIUS ZINKEVICHUS 35 MASTERS OLYMPIC K-1 52:38
7 CRAIG IMPENS 15 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 52:42
8 WESLEY ECHOLS 53 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 53:26
9 ERIC COSTANZO 49 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 53:38
10 BEATA CSEKE 44 WOMEN UNLIMITED K-1 54:12
11 PIERRE REBOUL 10 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 54:27
12 TIMOTHY DWYER 12 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 54:35
13 TIMOTHY HUDYNCIA 13 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 55:08
14 STEVE DELGAUDIO 36 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 56:45
15 BOB CAPELLINI 21 SENIOR UNLIMITED K-1 57:01
16 MATT DRAYER 18 OPEN TOURING K-1 57:06
17 WILLIAM PRATES JR 82 OPEN OLYMPIC K-1 57:28
18 FRANCISCO URENA 16 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 57:45
19 MIKE HERRERA 52 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 58:42
20 PHIL SACHS/RICK SILVERMAN 9 MASTERS REC K-2 58:44
21 ROBERT AGUSTYNOWICZ 24 SENIOR TOURING K-1 59:01
22 MARK CECONI 37 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 59:40
23 BOB WRIGHT 2 MASTERS SEA KAYAK K-1 59:51
24 CHRISTOPHER SHERWOOD 55 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 59:59
25 AUGUSTIN REBOUL 1000 JUNIOR UNLIMITED K-1 1:00:56
26 MARY BETH GANGLOFF 43 WOMEN UNLIMITED K-1 1:03:36
27 WOODY VIDGEN 40 VETERAN TOURING K-1 1:04:26
28 STEVEN SMITH 26 SENIOR OLYMPIC K-1 1:04:26
29 VITALI BONDAR 79 MASTERS TOURING K-1 1:05:00
30 LISA HUNTINGTON 33 WOMEN TOURING K-1 1:05:05
31 DANIEL LUCIANO 4 MASTERS TOURING K-1 1:05:07
32 DALE SHAW 3 MASTERS TOURING K-1 1:06:18
33 EMERY KORPI 5 MASTERS TOURING K-1 1:06:34
34 ODIN’S RAVEN II 83 MASTERS REC K-2 1:07:23
35 DAVID HYDE 87 OPEN SEA KAYAK K-1 1:08:33
36 MICHAEL RIPPLE/PAM BROWNING 8 MASTERS REC OC-2 1:10:37
37 CHAS BEGG 80 OPEN PADDLEBOARD 1:10:38
38 STEVE BLAZEJEWSKI/MIKE BLAZEJEWSKI 19 OPEN REC OC-2 1:11:04
39 VALERIE FISK 34 WOMEN TOURING K-1 1:11:08
40 ANDREW KELLAR 85 OPEN PADDLEBOARD 1:11:57
41 SHAWN MACDONALD 38 OPEN PADDLEBOARD 1:13:41
42 ALEX RUSSO 14 OPEN SEA KAYAK K-1 1:16:51
43 JUDY HILDEBRANDT/HERMAN BOTZOW 31 VETERAN RACING OC-2 1:16:55
44 ALBERT MOSCARITOLO 20 SENIOR REC K-1 1:17:19
45 SEAN ASHCRAFT 81 OPEN PADDLEBOARD 1:18:16
46 KAREN O’LEARY 57 WOMEN TOURING K-1 1:18:51
47 DENIS HARRINGTON 41 VETERAN SEA KAYAK K-1 1:19:03
48 STEPHANIE KELLY 25 SENIOR REC K-1 1:19:04
49 TERRY MYERS CONEY 59 SENIOR TOURING K-1 1:19:14
50 CARLY TILLOTSON 45 WOMEN PADDLEBOARD 1:20:54
4/27/2014 5:12PM
Page 2
32nd ANNUAL RUN OF THE CHARLES
CANOE AND KAYAK RACE
April 27, 2014 Charles River, Mass.
Timing by Granite State Race Services www.gsrs.com (see our Calendar of Races) bt@gsrs.com
==========================================================================================

************************************
* 6 MILE OVERALL RESULTS *
************************************

Place Name No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
51 JIM HOFFMAN 58 MASTERS PADDLEBOARD 1:21:17
52 JOHN NUGENT 30 VETERAN REC K-1 1:22:32
53 SHARON NAHILL 84 WOMEN SEA KAYAK K-1 1:23:12
54 KAREN KESNER 32 WOMEN REC K-1 1:24:24
55 ARCHIE HARRISON 28 VETERAN REC K-1 1:26:14
56 JAMES SHAW/BENJAMIN SHAW 1 JR/SR REC K-2 1:26:37
57 RANDY KAYE 11 MASTERS REC K-1 1:27:59
58 ERIN SHANAHAN 42 WOMEN PADDLEBOARD 1:28:30
59 JOHN MCGEE 22 SENIOR REC K-1 1:28:45
60 SUSAN RABAUT DUNN 27 SENIOR SEA KAYAK K-1 1:31:11
61 JIMMY HAURI 7 MASTERS REC K-1 1:35:55
62 PAM REIS 46 WOMEN REC K-2 1:39:40
63 DYLAN COSTANTO 60 JUNIOR SEA KAYAK K-1 1:39:57
64 MATT REIS 51 OPEN REC K-1 1:41:23
4/27/2014 5:12PM

 

OPEN CATEGORY, UNLIMITED K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 BORYS MARKIN 246 OPEN UNLIMITED K-1 2:19:19

MASTERS CATEGORY, UNLIMITED K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 TOM KERR 218 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 2:51:05
2 ROBERTO FLANIGANICO 213 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 2:58:24
3 CHRISTOPHER KIELB 203 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 3:03:31
4 TIMOTHY SHIELDS 217 MASTERS UNLIMITED K-1 3:16:28

SENIOR CATEGORY, UNLIMITED K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 TED VAN DUSEN 236 SENIOR UNLIMITED K-1 2:54:27

OPEN CATEGORY, TOURING K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 ALEX CHARNEY 245 OPEN TOURING K-1 3:42:29

MASTERS CATEGORY, TOURING K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 PHILIP WARNER 211 MASTERS TOURING K-1 3:04:32
2 SEAN MILANO 214 MASTERS TOURING K-1 3:19:06

SENIOR CATEGORY, TOURING K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 DANIEL BAUMERT 234 SENIOR TOURING K-1 3:23:31
2 CHARNEY 233 SENIOR TOURING K-1 4:03:23

VETERAN CATEGORY, TOURING K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 ROGER GOCKING 237 VETERAN TOURING K-1 3:02:45

VETERAN CATEGORY, OLYMPIC K-1 CLASS RESULTS FOR 19-MILE RACE

Place Team No. Category Class Time Dq
===== ============================================= ===== ============ ====================== ======= ===
1 BILL BAKER 249 VETERAN OLYMPIC K-1 5:46:07