Bump or Bust set for May 3 on Hitchcock Creek
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
* Photo gallery – a day at Hitchcock Creek
ROCKINGHAM — Anybody can do it.
One doesn’t have to be a star athlete to participate in the Bump or Bust, a float down Hitchcock Creek. The event is being organized by Mari Bennett and LMO Paradise Rentals and is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 3.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Larry Roberts takes his time during a Sunday afternoon jaunt down the first stage of Hitchcock Creek.
The event was discussed early Sunday afternoon during a creekside chat among stakeholders, including Bennett and Creek Runners Club members Sonny Aycoth, Christopher Stovall and Larry Roberts.
The original planned date for the Bump or Bust, May 2, won’t work because it’s prom day in Richmond County, Bennett said.
Entry is only $5 per person and each person will join the floating convey of inflatable crafts down the 3.67-mile stretch from Roberdel to Steele Street in Rockingham. Bennett said based on a trip that was a huge hit last Halloween — though hastily scheduled, nearly 100 people attended and 30 paddlers took part — she’s hoping for 150 to 200 floaters on May 3.
Transportation will be up to individual participants; there will not be shuttle service available. Call Bennett at 910-334-2888 for details.
Creek Runners shirts
Stovall is taking the lead on placing a T-shirt order, the design for which shows support for the Creek Runners Club and for Rockingham.
The cost is $13 per shirt and covers the cost of the shirt as well as shipping to Stovall. Pickups are to be arranged with Stovall directly. The order is to be placed a week from today. For more information, message him on Facebook through the Creek Runners forum.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Christopher Stovall, left, and Sonny Aycoth near the Steele Street access point. By no means, however, were they finished paddling for the day.
Speedy paddle
How fast can you paddle the first stage of Hitchcock Creek? You’ll get the chance to find out when Bennett and the Creek Runners host the inaugural Speedy Paddle, a combination fun time and competitive event that will crown creek king and queen based on time trials.
Up to eight paddlers will start at a time, roughly 10 to 15 minutes apart. Competition will be divided into age groups.
The event is planned for sometime in June. Details will be published when they become available. An entry fee applies. Call Bennett at 910-334-2888 for more information.
Creek clean-up
There are areas along the city-owned portion of Hitchcock Creek that could use a little sprucing up.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Snakes are a part of nature, but a planned creek clean-up day in April will help lessen the number of human-snake encounters this summer.
Stovall and Aycoth both noted areas where brush has built up in certain turns along the creek that could turn into snake beds later this year. Right now, the current takes even experienced paddlers right into those beds.
Both paddlers also said there are a couple of trees that cross the creek that should be cleared. The two, along with Roberts and Bennett, said April would be a good time to have a creek clean-up event to prepare for the onslaught of recreational paddlers.
Run-paddle-run in Winter 2015-16
The Pee Dee Post is planning to coordinate and sponsor a run-paddle-run event, pending permitting, for next winter.
The idea would be for competitors to stage their kayaks or canoes at Roberdel under the watch of an event official and gather at Steele Street. From Steele Street, runners would travel up Aslington Street and take Nicholson Road to the Roberdel access point. The first leg would cover about 3.5 miles.
Once at Roberdel, runners would convert to paddlers and paddle the 3.67 miles to the Steele Street access point.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
While members of the Creek Runners Club focus on the blue trail, these young cyclists are happy to have the Greenway available.
There, they’d take out and run an as-yet-underdetermined number of loops along the Hitchcock Creek Greenway trail — either one or two, for either 1.6 or roughly 3.2 miles for the third leg.
One doesn’t have to run and paddle; a relay option is available for those who prefer to do only one of the two activities. A paddler, then, could team up with a runner to double team the multisport effort.
An exact date has not yet been set, nor have entry fees been determined. It’s possible the event becomes a fundraiser for a local nonprofit. For more information, contacted The Pee Dee Post at 910-331-4130 or click here to send an email.
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