ATHOL — The 2022 River Rat Race on April 9 will be the final one involving Thomas Lozier, wrapping up a decades-long run as the beloved canoe race’s director and safety coordinator.
“This is my last one,” he said simply. “It’s just time.”
Lozier said he competed in the 5-mile Athol-to-Orange canoe sprint from 1974 to 1984, when a nagging shoulder injury prevented him from racing as competitively as he would have liked. That’s when Ted Crumb, one of the race’s longtime pillars, asked him to get involved with the event’s administrative side.
“I hopped on board it and it was one of the greatest things I ever did,” the 64-year-old said this week. “I met some great people along the way.”
Lozier said his main responsibility is ensuring the presence of the Northfield Dive and Rescue Team, which has lent its services to the race for more than 30 years. The team’s 20 to 25 members monitor both sides of the Millers River’s shore for the race’s first half-mile or so, where competitors’ ferocious paddling and positioning creates a chaotic situation that sometimes causes canoes to capsize.
“I can’t say enough about the dive team,” Lozier said, adding that the squad works hand in hand with the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Unit.
Lozier said the fire departments from Orange, Phillipston, Petersham, New Salem, Northfield and Royalston also assist at the race.
Northfield Dive and Rescue Team leader Bill Ryan said Lozier is responsible for making sure all boats and personnel are on the water so the team and the fire departments can help to the best of their ability.
“Tom’s a good man,” Ryan said. “We love to help him out.”
The 2020 and 2021 races were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in Lozier postponing his retirement.
Ryan and Lozier acknowledged the April 9 race will be a more solemn occasion due to Lozier’s impending departure and the December 2021 death of longtime race chairman David Flint. Lozier and Flint were lifelong friends, having grown up together in Athol, and were instrumental in saving the race from possible extinction three decades ago.
“They were the backbone … of the River Rat Race for a very long time,” Ryan said.
The race will be held in Flint’s memory.
“Davey was one of my closest friends. That one really hurt, when we lost him,” Lozier said. “This is going to be bittersweet. He knew this was my last one.”
Following this year’s event, Lozier will hand over the safety coordinator reins to Jason Rushford, an on-call firefighter with the Orange Fire Department.
“Lucky me,” Rushford said with a laugh, adding that he has “very big shoes to fill. Tommy knows that race inside and out. He has everything down to a science and it will be a challenge to get anywhere close to what he does for the Rat Race.
“He could do this with his eyes closed. He’s amazing at it,” Rushford continued. “He knows the river like the back of his hand. He’s the best there is out there.”
Rushford, 40, said he has been involved with the race for 22 years, after then-Capt. Mark Brennan got him interested in working on a boat for the event when he joined the department.
“It’s great to see the energy and effort that the participants put into the race,” he said, whether the paddlers are professional or competing for fun.
Sponsored by the Athol Lions Club, the 57th running of the River Rat Race is set to begin at 1 p.m. on April 9. More information, and a registration form, is available at riverratrace.com.
“As far as what it means to me, it’s right up there with Christmas. It’s an exciting time,” Lozier said. “Like Ted Crumb used to say, ‘That’s the only thing that hits Athol.’”
Lozier and Rushford referred to the event as the unofficial start of spring in the North Quabbin region.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com.