ATHOL — Trevor Lefever and Ben Schlimmer are coming back.
The Oneonta, N.Y., residents are past champions of the annual Athol-Orange River Rat Race and plan to return for the event’s 54th installment this weekend.
“Every experience I’ve had there, it’s gone pretty darn good,” Lefever said. “It’s just a cool race. There’s none like it, that’s for sure.”
The River Rat Race is a 5.2-mile canoe race on the Millers River in which 300 participants compete in teams of two. The race highlights a weekend of festivities that include carnival rides, a road race called The Big Cheese 5K and a parade. This will be Lefever’s sixth time participating, having won three times. Schlimmer has won four times, twice while teaming with Lefever. Both learned of the River Rat Race from fellow paddlers.
“It’s a great way to start the season. It’s the first race on the racing calendar,” he said. “The people are exceptional. The organization is top-notch. The competition is great.”
Lefever said he enjoys camaraderie of the race and the cannon-fire start, which he said reminds him of a good war re-enactment. He also said he is glad he overcame his initial reluctance to take the three-hour drive from Oneonta to Athol for a half-hour canoe race.
“I didn’t want to travel to Massachusetts, or so I thought,” he said.
Not every River Rat Race participant comes from out of state. Dennis Carey, who teamed up with Dale Persons to win the 2006 race, lives in Orange and has been paddling in the race for 33 years.
“I’m not old — I just started in seventh grade,” he said. “And then I was hooked, once I started.”
Carey said the 2006 win vindicated years of second-place finishes (including some photo finishes).
“It was the best feeling,” he said. “It was good to finally get the monkey off the back.”
Carey said terrible weather and icy waters have made training difficult this year, but River Rat Race weekend does wonders for the small businesses in the North Quabbin region.
Mark Wright, the executive director of the North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce, said the race typically draws 20,000 people to and around Athol in early April, bringing with them an economic impact of roughly $1 million that benefits area restaurants, stores, gas stations and lodging.
The race starts on the east bank of the Millers River at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Post position drawings will be held in Athol Memorial Hall (inside Town Hall) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Big Chesse 5K foot race starts at 9:30 a.m. on School Street.