GRAYLING — A prelude to Saturday’s AuSable Canoe Marathon is Friday night’s Special Olympics Challenge, a highly-anticipated event that begins at Penrod’s Livery in Grayling.

Special Olympians from the Crawford, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Roscommon (COOR) Intermediate School district are paired with a professional paddler through a short loop course on the AuSable River.

“It draws a lot of people,” said John Lucey, Grayling Canoe Marathon Committee chairman. “It is the one event the Olympians look forward to every year. They do the event and then a month later they are wondering when they can do it again.”

Lucey said the professional paddlers also anticipate the event, which begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

“Some paddlers are teamed up with the same Olympian every year,” he said. “They correspond with each other and have a great time.”

After the short race, the Olympians and paddlers exchange awards at the Paddler’s Dinner, held at 6:30 p.m. at the Grayling Ramada Inn.

There, a check is passed from the Canoe Marathon committee to the Special Olympics, which represents a large portion of the marathon’s registration fees.

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