Over 3,000 miles and cOunting

By PARKER O’BRIEN Sports Editor

SARANAC LAKE — There aren’t too many things that last more than 35 years, but for Saranac Lake native Larry Sweeney the Adirondack Canoe Classic — better known as the 90-miler — is one of them.

After betting his buddies a keg of beer in 1986 that he could complete the 90-mile long canoe race, Sweeney and his long-time teammate Brian Finn completed the three-day journey in 9 hours, 55 minutes, 34 seconds.

While it’s safe to say Sweeney won the bet and the beer likely didn’t last that long, what did last was a family tradition he still holds today.

“Brian and I have done it together for 35 years straight,” Sweeney said. “The only one we’ve missed is the one where they didn’t have it for COVID. We didn’t do the first couple because we didn’t know about it.”

Sweeney and Finn went to high school together in Saranac Lake and although Finn lives in Massachusetts, the pair have made sure to attend the 90-miler every year since they’ve started, even when Sweeney was living in South Carolina.

“Wherever we were, I would fly up to Massachusetts — because that’s where he lives — and we’d drive up,” Sweeney said.

While Sweeney and Finn live far away from each other, they don’t train for the race, and they since have switched over from two-man to four-man.

“Four-man is the way to go,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney said the other two guys have been doing it for 10 years with them.

After logging more than 3,000 miles in a canoe, Sweeney says he doesn’t know if anything could stop him and Finn from doing the 90-miler.

He said that maybe health or the entry fee would play a factor or if they lost their pit crew, then they would probably be done.

Sweeney said his pit crew, which is made up of his and his teammates’ families, has played a huge role in their journey over the years. He added that they help them with lodging and basic needs during the race.

“We don’t tent out. We’ve never tented, we stay in cabins and things like that,” Sweeney said. “We would have it so my parents — who are a part of my pit crew — would fix us spaghetti dinners and whatever we needed. We’ve always had a great pit crew, that’s what keeps us going.”

The 90-mile tradition has grown throughout the Sweeney household and Finn household.

“My family members, Brian’s kids and my kids, have all done it, and my nieces and nephews,” Sweeney said. “We’ve had quite a crew go through.”

Sweeney said that his brothers have also competed in the race. He added that his older brother, Steve, has done it for 29 years.

For Sweeney, some of his favorite memories were when he raced against his brother, including one time when the weather was very bad.

“Brian and I were in front of my two brothers, we went through Brown’s Tract the first day, it’s really tough and then it opens up into Raquette Lake,” Sweeney said. “They were like 20 yards behind us and they tried to yell to us that they canceled the race ... We never heard them.

“They went to the taproom, which is right there, and we paddled across the roughest water,” he added. “We didn’t capsize — and we’ve capsized many times — but a lot of boats did and we got to the end of the race and there they are with a beer in their hands yelling at us ... We paddled an extra 10 miles that day.”

Sweeney said it’s memories like these that have kept him going all of these years.

“(The 90-miler) is a challenge, it’s not easy,” Sweeney said. “If you do it, document each day, because we’ve had some great laughs and our stories get better and better over the years. We’ve done it in all kinds of weather.

“I tell people if you do it and do it for a long time, mark down the weather and what you just paddled in,” he added. “We’ve had to break the ice off the bottom of the boat and it was so cold. That’s probably our biggest mistake that we didn’t do.”

Along with the memories, Sweeney said he’s met a lot of nice people and that’s another thing that brings him back. He and Finn aren’t super competitive, so they’ve found ways to make the race even more enjoyable over the years.

“What you do is you find a race inside the race,” Sweeney said. “You say ‘there is a team like the Mazdzers’ — a local team from Saranac Lake — and you say, ‘ok, we’ve got to beat them’ or ‘we’ve got to beat the Snyders or Grace McDonnell’s four-woman crew, you’ve got to pick them off.’”

If Sweeney can keep making new memories and can meet new people, it seems like there won’t be an end to his journey anytime soon.

At left is Larry Sweeney, Dan Miller, Brian Finn and Thomas Tracey toward the end of the 90-miler race in 2019.

EDDYLINE • WENONAH • NORTHSTAR CANOES • OLD TOWN Paddle the Adirondacks

Canoe, Kayak, SUP & Camping Equipment Rentals & Sales

Your local outfitter since 1983

TUPPER LAKE - 1754 STATE ROUTE 30 518-359-3228