Die-hard kayakers who love the thrill of a river run and families who want to dress up and take a leisurely ride will come together on Saturday, May 4 for the annual Great Russian River Fun Race.
Changing it up this year the race will feature one 5-mile river course for all levels, the Rio Lindo course.
“In years past it has been a combination of competition and leisure. We’ve narrowed it down to a 5-mile run geared toward family and fun,” said Shannon Wesley, operations manager for River Keeper, which organizes the race.
This year the route starts at 9 a.m. north of Healdsburg and meanders from Diggers Bend around Fitch Mountain ending at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach.
And with a large amount of rainfall this year River Keeper Founder and founder of the Great Russian River Race, Don McEnhill, said canoers, kayaker and stand-up paddlers should expect great river conditions.
“It is a little higher but we like it that way … and the river is just really clear and that beautiful steelhead green and the water temperatures are starting to go up so we expect great river conditions,” McEnhill said.
He added that he expects water temperatures to reach between the 60s and 70s with a river flow rate of about 600 cubic feet per second, which is considered a low flow great for beginners.
“It will have a little less push but it will definitely be a nicer river flow,” he said.
This particular area of the river is considered Class I. According to the international scale of river difficulty, Class I waters consists of fast moving waters with riffles (the rocky or shallow part of a river with rough water) and small waves. There are few obstructions and risk to swimmers is slight.
McEnhill said he will be going out on the route this week to mark any obstructions or areas racers should avoid. He said they typically mark danger areas with pink signage whereas the green marked areas denote good areas.
And despite the race not being focused on fierce competitiveness there will be awards for those who finish the race first.
“We’ll do plaques for first place for different divisions,” Wesley said. “We’ll also do awards for the costume contest.”
Awards will go to the most original and the funniest costumes in several different divisions: Most original men’s, most original women’s and most original youth’s and funniest men’s, women’s and youth’s.
In past years participants have gone all out, sporting outfits with clown hair and makeup, hula skirts, Viking hats, neon tulle skirts and more. In continuing the fun, the beach party following the race will feature wine and beer, a slew of food trucks and live music.
Black Piglet, Jams Joy Bungalow and Tips Tri Tip will be on hand to serve up tasty and savory treats. Seismic Brewery and La Crema wines will be on hand to wash it all down with beer and wine.
Funds raised from the event will go toward river access and restoration projects. McEnhill said one of the bigger projects River Keeper is working toward is restoring the gravel pits area near East Road back to the natural floodplains.
The organization also wants to work on creating river access at Badger Park and more connectivity between Forestville and Healdsburg access points.
Overall McEnhill said of the event, “It’s all about connecting the community to the most precious natural resource.”
