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"Dad was a lumberjack, working in the woods," recalled Kent, who lived in Atlanta until he was nine. "He was making good money, but back in the day a $500 prize (in the AuSable Marathon) was quite something."

Today the top prize in the grueling 120-mile race is $5,000 and the winners split a $50,000 purse.

But it's not the cash that's brought him back to Grayling 15 times for what's billed as North America's longest non-stop canoe race. "Dad did it 17 times. My uncles have done it. My brothers have done it. It's kind of in the blood," said Kent.

The race starts at the Old AuSable Canoe Livery in Grayling at 9 p.m. Saturday the last full week end of July and "you go 'till you're done," said Kent. The best he's ever done was a fifth-place finish in 2002.

However, Kent and partner Rick Joy were named National Champions of the 40+ division in 2004.

Kent generally enters 10 to 15 Michigan Canoe Racing Association races a year, as well as what he calls the triple crown.

It starts with the General Clinton Canoe Regatta in New York Memorial Day weekend and this year Kent and fellow Lapeer paddler Russ Reker clocked 8:49:04 in the Mens Under 50 Division for the 70-mile run down the Susquehanna River from Bainbridge to Cooperstown, NY.

It ends with La Classique de Canots de La Maurice -- this is a three-day, three-stage race starting in La Tuque, Quebec, over the Labor Day weekend. In the middle is Kent's favorite, the AuSable.

"Night paddling is a blast," he said, adding, "It's the most beautiful river."

This year, though, he missed the marathon. Instead he and several friends canoed 200 miles of semi-frozen lakes and river above the Arctic Circle in Nantahala along the Mara and Burnside rivers into Coronation Gulf south of Victoria Island.

Kent said his wife of 25 years, Yvette, said "You're nuts," when he told her he wanted to make the trip, but let him go anyway. "That's what's great about her. She's very supportive," he said.

He said he learned about the trip from his friend, Paul Grondin, who in turned learned about the trip from adventure author Rob Kesslering, who organized.

Flying to northern Canada the first week of July meant giving up critical training time for the AuSable Race.

Kent said he and fellow competitive paddlers in the Lapeer area being training in boats in January on the Flint River near the Holloway Reservoir. "You can find open water in Michigan somewhere almost all year," he said. He and his friends put in at Irish Road for the seven-mile run upstream to the reservoir.

When there's no open water or it's too cold, Kent spends a lot of time at the Lapeer Community Center running and using the weights.

Even though Kent is 48 and a grandfather, he said, "There's still hope." He noted that Serge Corbin, the iron man from Quebec, who holds the current AuSable record of 13:58:08, is in his 50s. He added second place in the Marathon this year went to a 44-year-old and, "There's a 63-year-old guy out there who's very competitive."

The Michigan racing season begins in Grand Ledge in late April and ends in Paradise in September. Kent said he plans on competing in Mio Aug. 23 and finishing the season with the 17-mile run from Lower Tahquamenon Falls to the river mouth on Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay.

Long distance canoeing, he said, is about endurance.

"I like a challenge," he said.

Phil Foley may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8148 or pfoley@lapeergroup.com.