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INDIAN RIVER — Anyone who has watched the annual Top O’Michigan Outboard Marathon Nationals boat races over the years knows the thrill.
The rush is felt even along the shorelines of the lakes and rivers the boats speed through.
But, that also comes with a risk. One that's known well by the drivers.
The 2025 Marathon Nationals race will come this weekend, though it’ll come with some heavy hearts within the boats and along the banks.
Frequent Top O’Michigan competitors Dustin Pearson, a former Indian River resident, and Treiden Schleicher, a Springfield, Ohio resident who had just begun making waves in the sport at the age of 20, recently died due to injuries sustained while racing.
Pearson was competing in a PRO National Championship Boat Race in Lake DePue, Ill. on Friday, July 25 when his boat flipped in the final heat of competition. He later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital in Illinois on Friday, Aug. 1.
Pearson, who was now living in Mount Pleasant, earned recent CSR Class titles in the Top O’Michigan Marathon Nationals in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
He leaves behind his wife, Devan, and two young children, Reed and Baker.
Schleicher died following an accident on Tuesday, July 29 in an accident during the Alton Midwest Nationals Powerboat Championships in Champions Park Lake in Springfield, Ohio.
Both racers competed during the 2024 Top O'Michigan race through the Inland Waterway.
The 2025 and 77th Marathon Nationals race will take place between Friday and Sunday, Aug. 8-10, with competition taking place both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s 45-mile race will begin at noon at DeVoe Beach in Indian River, run to a buoy in Burt Lake and through the Indian River into Mullett Lake. From Mullett, racers head through the Cheboygan River to a buoy, then back through the same course to a finish through the Indian River.
On Sunday, a 42-mile course will again begin at noon at DeVoe Beach, sending racers through Burt Lake, into the Crooked River and around Crooked Lake, then back through the course to Mullett Lake, before finishing in the Indian River once again.
The 2024 race had six classes of competition, which included JSR, CSR, ASR, DSR, 15SSR and 25SSR. Both the Bandit and Outlaw classes have not raced the competition since 2018, while AXR and X Class have also not been featured.
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The 2025 competition will come with three racers looking for three-peats, as Chase Fairbairn within the CSR Class, Luke Bosker of DSR and Callie Shensky of 15SSR look to claim a third straight title.
Harbor Springs natives, Bosker and Fairbairn grew up racing together. Shensky is a native of Germantown, Wis. with 19 years of experience.
Fairbairn grew up in a family of racers and has built his own legacy, so much so that he was inducted into the Stock Outboard 2024 Hall of Champions, along with local racer and Marathon Nationals Vice Commodore, Peter Lauer. The two were recognized during a Hall of Champions banquet earlier this year.
Fairbairn also earned the Craig Dewald Award and claimed the Marathon High Points honor, while Lauer earned National High Points in 25R and CSR and was a third place finisher in last year’s Top O’Michigan competition.
Along with Lauer, the 2025 Top O’Michigan board members include Samantha Fairbairn (Commodore), Charlie Smith (Secretary), Dan Pearson (Associate Member) and Sara Bek (Treasurer).
RIVER CLOSINGS NOTICE
The Cheboygan River will be closed Saturday, Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Indian River will be closed Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the Crooked River will be closed on Sunday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Top O' Michigan Marathon National Championship boat races.
The rush is felt even along the shorelines of the lakes and rivers the boats speed through.
But, that also comes with a risk. One that's known well by the drivers.
The 2025 Marathon Nationals race will come this weekend, though it’ll come with some heavy hearts within the boats and along the banks.
Frequent Top O’Michigan competitors Dustin Pearson, a former Indian River resident, and Treiden Schleicher, a Springfield, Ohio resident who had just begun making waves in the sport at the age of 20, recently died due to injuries sustained while racing.
Pearson was competing in a PRO National Championship Boat Race in Lake DePue, Ill. on Friday, July 25 when his boat flipped in the final heat of competition. He later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital in Illinois on Friday, Aug. 1.
Pearson, who was now living in Mount Pleasant, earned recent CSR Class titles in the Top O’Michigan Marathon Nationals in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
He leaves behind his wife, Devan, and two young children, Reed and Baker.
Schleicher died following an accident on Tuesday, July 29 in an accident during the Alton Midwest Nationals Powerboat Championships in Champions Park Lake in Springfield, Ohio.
Both racers competed during the 2024 Top O'Michigan race through the Inland Waterway.
The 2025 and 77th Marathon Nationals race will take place between Friday and Sunday, Aug. 8-10, with competition taking place both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s 45-mile race will begin at noon at DeVoe Beach in Indian River, run to a buoy in Burt Lake and through the Indian River into Mullett Lake. From Mullett, racers head through the Cheboygan River to a buoy, then back through the same course to a finish through the Indian River.
On Sunday, a 42-mile course will again begin at noon at DeVoe Beach, sending racers through Burt Lake, into the Crooked River and around Crooked Lake, then back through the course to Mullett Lake, before finishing in the Indian River once again.
The 2024 race had six classes of competition, which included JSR, CSR, ASR, DSR, 15SSR and 25SSR. Both the Bandit and Outlaw classes have not raced the competition since 2018, while AXR and X Class have also not been featured.
Get the Daily Briefing newsletter in your inbox.
Start your day with the morning’s top news
The 2025 competition will come with three racers looking for three-peats, as Chase Fairbairn within the CSR Class, Luke Bosker of DSR and Callie Shensky of 15SSR look to claim a third straight title.
Harbor Springs natives, Bosker and Fairbairn grew up racing together. Shensky is a native of Germantown, Wis. with 19 years of experience.
Fairbairn grew up in a family of racers and has built his own legacy, so much so that he was inducted into the Stock Outboard 2024 Hall of Champions, along with local racer and Marathon Nationals Vice Commodore, Peter Lauer. The two were recognized during a Hall of Champions banquet earlier this year.
Fairbairn also earned the Craig Dewald Award and claimed the Marathon High Points honor, while Lauer earned National High Points in 25R and CSR and was a third place finisher in last year’s Top O’Michigan competition.
Along with Lauer, the 2025 Top O’Michigan board members include Samantha Fairbairn (Commodore), Charlie Smith (Secretary), Dan Pearson (Associate Member) and Sara Bek (Treasurer).
RIVER CLOSINGS NOTICE
The Cheboygan River will be closed Saturday, Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Indian River will be closed Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the Crooked River will be closed on Sunday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Top O' Michigan Marathon National Championship boat races.
