Next week I am paddling in a kayak race called the MR340. It's the worlds longest continuous paddle race - a non-stop 340 miles from Kansas City MO to St. Charles MO - across the entire state of Missouri. The race will start at 7:00 am CDT on Tuesday 7/24 with an 88 hour time limit. This year there are about 550 boats registered in ten different divisions. I am in the largest group - male solo - with 290 boats. My goal is pretty high as I'm going for a top-10 finish. This would put me at the finish line about 47 hours after I start.
No, there's no sleeping going on and no real rest breaks. I have a ground crew of my wife and brother will meet me about every 35-40 miles along the river to swap out my water bags and give me some food. But for the most part it's some heavy duty paddling non-stop for two days.
If anyone is interested in tracking me, it's fairly simple:
1. Go to Raceowl.com
2. Click on the link for 2018 MR340
3. The top ten boats will pop up in a box. Go to the "view all" icon
4. Put my boat number in the search box - 3489
5. This will show my time at the last checkpoint and my position in my division. I also am carrying a SPOT tracker so if you click on the SPOT symbol on the far right it will show exactly where I am on a map.
A brief history of me in this race: My first time in 2015, I finished in 48:40 and came in 17th. I went back in 2016 looking for a top-ten finish but messed up my eating. I made it 188 miles after 27 continuous hours of paddling but then passed out and had to drop out of the race. Being diabetic certainly didn't help there. I've been working on my race nutrition and overall fitness for the last two years and now I'm back again. We'll see how it goes.
It's kayak racing time again!
- jaybee
- Posts: 1922
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:44 pm
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Estonut
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 10495
- Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:16 am
- Location: Garden Grove, CA
Re: It's kayak racing time again!
Cool! Break a ... paddle?!
A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
- ghostjmf
- Posts: 7421
- Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:09 am
Re: It's kayak racing time again!
Go Go Go
& may your blood sugar stay whatever passes for normal with you.
& may your blood sugar stay whatever passes for normal with you.
- jaybee
- Posts: 1922
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:44 pm
- Location: Knoxville, TN
Re: It's kayak racing time again!
So a quick update if anyone is interested.
I finished the race Thursday evening just after 10:00 pm. Total time for the 340 miles was 63 hours and 7 minutes. Actually quite off on the time I was hoping for. Near the end of the first day, I was in around 12th to 15th place out of all 500 boats in the race. I started feeling ill Tuesday evening, recovered enough to paddle 35 miles to the next checkpoint but then got stuck there for almost 12 hours unable to keep anything down, including water. I finally recovered enough to start drinking and eating, got back on the water to finish the final 2/3 of the race.
Total distance = 340 miles
Time on the water = 41.02 hours
Time on land = 22+ hours
Total time = 63:07
Average speed on the water = 8.3 mph
Total paddle strokes = 140,000 (give or take a few thousand)
Despite getting sick in the middle, it was a fun race.
I finished the race Thursday evening just after 10:00 pm. Total time for the 340 miles was 63 hours and 7 minutes. Actually quite off on the time I was hoping for. Near the end of the first day, I was in around 12th to 15th place out of all 500 boats in the race. I started feeling ill Tuesday evening, recovered enough to paddle 35 miles to the next checkpoint but then got stuck there for almost 12 hours unable to keep anything down, including water. I finally recovered enough to start drinking and eating, got back on the water to finish the final 2/3 of the race.
Total distance = 340 miles
Time on the water = 41.02 hours
Time on land = 22+ hours
Total time = 63:07
Average speed on the water = 8.3 mph
Total paddle strokes = 140,000 (give or take a few thousand)
Despite getting sick in the middle, it was a fun race.
Jaybee
- Ritterskoop
- Posts: 5727
- Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:16 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Re: It's kayak racing time again!
Congratulations! It would have been very easy to bail but you didn't. That's something you can feel good about forever.
If you fail to pilot your own ship, don't be surprised at what inappropriate port you find yourself docked. - Tom Robbins
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At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you. - attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
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At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you. - attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
- Bob Juch
- Posts: 26461
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:58 am
- Location: Oro Valley, Arizona
- Contact:
Re: It's kayak racing time again!
We have vastly different views on "fun"!jaybee wrote:So a quick update if anyone is interested.
I finished the race Thursday evening just after 10:00 pm. Total time for the 340 miles was 63 hours and 7 minutes. Actually quite off on the time I was hoping for. Near the end of the first day, I was in around 12th to 15th place out of all 500 boats in the race. I started feeling ill Tuesday evening, recovered enough to paddle 35 miles to the next checkpoint but then got stuck there for almost 12 hours unable to keep anything down, including water. I finally recovered enough to start drinking and eating, got back on the water to finish the final 2/3 of the race.
Total distance = 340 miles
Time on the water = 41.02 hours
Time on land = 22+ hours
Total time = 63:07
Average speed on the water = 8.3 mph
Total paddle strokes = 140,000 (give or take a few thousand)
Despite getting sick in the middle, it was a fun race.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.