Local Venturer Scouts will defend their respective divisional titles when the 51st Annual Explorer 110-mile Bogue Chitto River Canoe Marathon Race begins Thursday in McComb, Miss. The race concludes Saturday in Bush.

The three-day race will cover a 110-mile stretch of the Bogue Chitto River from the Hwy. 98 Bridge, south of McComb to Fisherman’s Landing in Bush.

The race begins at 9 a.m. Thursday and is sponsored the Istrouma Council, Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in Baton Rouge and hosted by the Bogue Tuchenna District. It will run in six legs down the river.

A group of former scouts will join the canoers during the last leg Saturday which begins at 9 a.m.