It seems there is no limit for competitors in the United States Canoe Association’s national championships.

Categories range from male to female, canoe to kayak and paddle boards and young to old.

Mike Fremont of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been racing canoes for 56 years. He finished the marathon race from Kinzua Dam to Irvine in fourth place Saturday in the C1 (canoe, one person) Grand Veteran 2 category with a time of three hours, 25 minutes and 46 seconds.

Not bad for a 93-year-old man.

“It was perfect out there, perfect. Coming through the town, it was a mirror. You don’t often see that on a river,” he said.

When asked how long he had been racing, he replied, “I think 56 years. In 1960, one guy called up and said, ‘Do you want to get in a canoe race?'”

He said over the years he has been in many races in many places.

“I’ve been to Warren several times. I’ve raced in the General Clinton from Cooperstown, N.Y., to Bainbridge twelve times between 1975 and 2009, many times alone. The last time was with a partner. That’s 70 miles,” he said.

“One thing unusual about me, I founded a canoeing club, the Elderly Paddlers’ Association, the EPA. You have to be 63 to qualify. Three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we race three miles on a GPS course on Winton Woods Lake. We start at 7:30 in the morning, before there is a wind or fishermen,” he said.

The junior classes ran a shorter version of the marathon.

Ariel Sayger from Arkansas is 13 years old, but she raced in the 12-year old division because her birthdate placed her there. “I came in second,” she said, “but there were only two canoes racing. I like to race, but I’d rather win.”

She said it is a family sport, and “in 2009, our whole family came.” She was here this year with her parents and two brothers.

She raced in C2 Women Junior, partnering with Ashley Digit of Michigan, with a time of one hour, nine minutes and 57 seconds. “I’m going to race again tomorrow (Sunday),” she said.

Ariel warned of a chute between an island and the shore behind United Refinery. “It can turn you around, if you’re not careful,” she said,adding that she saw an eagle Tuesday near Warren General Hospital.

Her father, Steve, said this year was their third time in Warren for the races. “My third-born won nationals here,” he said.

Kevin Rettinger, 17, from Ashtabula Ohio, took second place in the one-man kayak male junior class with a time of one hour, ten minutes and three seconds.

He said, “The most nerve-wracking time is waiting for the man to say ‘Go!'” Kevins’s father, Paul, noted that Kevin had finished in second place in the Ohio State Championship’s adult division, with a beat-up used kayak, with adult contenders using professional grade kayaks.