Quinn Kicks Off Canoe Marathon

This Friday, May 18, at 10:30 a.m., Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will kick off the celebrations for the 50th Annual Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon � while standing in a 20-foot birchbark replica canoe on the banks of the Des Plaines River and surrounded by French voyageur re-enactors wielding canoe paddles. 

nbsp;The �voyageurs,� dressed in 17th century-period clothing, will represent a time when Stony Ford served as an historic river crossing due to its shallow depth and hard river bottom.  And there is no better place to mark the remarkable 50th anniversary of the first-ever Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon. 

The 18.5-mile race began in 1957 when avid paddler Ralph Frese invited local Boy Scouts to take part in a small competition.  That year, 25 canoes raced down the river.

That small competition has grown into a full day of outdoor fun, with exhibits, picnics, and more than 2,000 paddlers racing down the Des Plaines River during the second oldest continental canoe race in the United States.  With help from the Cook County Forest Preserve District and the Lake County Forest Preserve, the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon will once again bring the community together to appreciate outdoor recreation, canoeing, rivers and conservation 

�We salute Ralph Frese, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Lake County Forest Preserve, the racers, and all of the volunteers who every year make the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon a fun and safe way to honor our rivers,� Quinn said.

 The marathon will take place this Sunday, May 20.  On-site registration starts at 9:30 a.m.  The course begins at Oak Springs Road in Libertyville and ends at Dam #2 (Kensington Road) in Mt. Prospect - approximately 18.5 miles downstream.  For more information please visit: http://www.canoemarathon.com

For more information about keeping Illinois waterways safe and healthy, please visit: www.CleanWater.il.gov.