You're doing WHAT?!?!?! An MR340 Primer.

We keep getting many questions about the MR340 so thought we'd take a minute to explain exactly what we're doing. The MR340 is an 88-hour canoe race on the Missouri River across the State of Missouri. This year the race will begin on July 24th at 8:00 a.m. We will have until midnight on July 27th to complete the race. Here are a few answers to many of the questions we've received:

1. No, we do not 'camp' along the way. There is no time for camping, but we'll catch some sleep when we can.
2. Yes, we paddle at night too.
3. No, this is not a fundraiser. Our reasons for doing this race might differ, but mainly we think: why not?
4. No, we are not dating. We've been friends for fifteen years.
5. No, we are not crazy (we think!). We will join up to 499 other boats on the Missouri River for this race.

So, what is the MR340? Here are some facts:

1. The first MR340 race was in 2006.
2. The race requires us to paddle 340 miles in 88 hours on the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Charles.
3. One-Quarter of the boats that signed up will not show up on race day (125/500). One-third of the boats who start the race will not finish (124/375). If we finish, we will be one of about half of the boats who signed up to actually finish the race (251/500).
4. The record for a mixed-tandem canoe (which is us: woman and man in a canoe) was set in 2010: 41 hours, 26 minutes. We will not beat this record.
5. No one has died on this race, according to our research. (Jeffrey is a librarian and Danielle is an attorney - so the research is pretty solid) This is in part to all the rules and safety precautions!

What does the MR340 look like?  Watch this video and see!

Meet our Ground Crew Captain: Rebecca!

There are rules in the MR340 race. Since there will be up to 500 boats on the Missouri River at Kaw Point in Kansas City on July 24, 2018 when the race begins, the rules are in place to keep all paddlers and volunteers as safe as possible over the 88 hours of the race. Rule #8 states:

8. Ground support is required for all racers. It may be physical, virtual or a combination of both. A physical ground crew is present at checkpoints and knows with some certainty their racers approximate location and condition. A virtual ground crew is able to track a racer via electronic means and will know a relatively exact location. Both physical and virtual ground crews must be available 24 hours a day for phone contact with race officials seeking information on their racer(s). To clarify, if you have a virtual ground crew, you must also have an electronic tracking system which they can monitor at all times. 

A ground crew may assist with procurement of supplies, set up of tents and preparation of meals. Ground crew may not, in any way, assist with propulsion of the boat. They may only touch the boat when the boat is in contact with the shore or in knee deep water. Physical contact with support can only occur when the boat is grounded or in knee deep water. No contact on the water is allowed. No support provided from a support boat is allowed.

A physical ground crew is obviously much more helpful during the race than a virtual ground crew. It was important to us that we have a physical ground crew. But, where could we find someone (or someones) who would agree to accompany us on this crazy adventure? Enter Rebecca.

Rebecca works at school with Jeffrey, and she possesses qualities needed to be our Ground Crew Captain - she is reliable, hard-working, and quick on her feet. She also holds a valid MO driver's license.  Furthermore, she possesses an additional qualification that sets her apart from many others who might be interested in the job - she has the summer off.  And, when we offered her the position as Ground Crew Captain, she said "Yes."

The must-read book for all 340 paddlers, Missouri River 340: First Time Finisher, describes ground crews in the following way:

Ground Crews are a powerful advantage. Their role in this race was much more than holding warm-up sweats and cheering. Can you paddle the race without one? Absolutely. But as a first-timer, those things a Ground Crew does, like re-supply, assess, analyze, cajole, hydrate, feed and do Walmart runs, are things that are awfully hard to do from the boat. For us, to know we had someone at the next checkpoint, ready to get anything we need and help in any way, was an incredible advantage, not only from the physical sense of providing pizza and soda, but from the peace of mind it gave us knowing that if something happened, we had to make it to the next checkpoint and our magnificent Ground Crew would find a way to get us up and running again.

Rebecca joined us last weekend as we paddled 27-ish miles of the Missouri River. We want to include her as often as possible during our training paddles, so the MR340 is not the first time she is exposed to our craziness. We are incredibly thankful for Rebecca and her willingness to go on this adventure with us!

Rebecca - Ground Crew Captain

Rebecca recruiting more ground crew members!

Big Miles on the Big Muddy

After a few trips on Ozarks streams, we decided we need to get on bigger water. Danielle was in St. Louis for work at the end of the week so we made plans for Saturday to paddle a portion of the Missouri River in the area. This was our first time getting on the Missouri River - and it was nerve racking! The river moves much faster than smaller rivers, and the obstacles are larger (entire trees floating down the river, wingdikes that jut halfway across the river, and boats). We also knew that we would be on the water for 4-8 hours depending on our speed, so preparations took longer than anticipated.

Danielle arrived at Jeffrey's house around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. We planned to be on the river by 8:00 a.m. Then, we planned to be on the river by 9:00 a.m. Then, we planned to be on the river by 10:00 a.m. Then, we forgot our paddles in Jeffrey's garage and had to turn around to get them, so we planned to be on the river by 11:00 a.m. We finally put in at 11:45 a.m. We checked in with our ground crew chief, Rebecca, every thirty minutes. Rebecca will play an important role during the MR340, so we will blog more about her in a future post.

We paddled 27.3 miles, putting in at the Klondike Access (Rivermile 56.3) and taking out at Frontier Park (Rivermile 29.0).  The weather was great, the river was beautiful, and paddling was easygoing. With the Big Muddy carrying us along, our average pace was about 6.0 mph and finished this trip in 4.5 hours. In July, when we compete in the MR340, we will have 88 hours to finish 340 miles. That's just under 4 miles an hour (if we make no stops and have no complications). Although we made good time during this initial trip, we are still learning how to stay in the current to maximize our speed and minimize our effort.

Using the restroom on the river is challenging. Since this inherently easier for guys than gals, modern technology allows the ladies a few ways to close the difficulty gap.  After researching many FUDs (female urination devices), Danielle settled on the Whiz Freedom. We also purchased a poncho to provide some level of privacy, but the wind made it difficult to keep the poncho in place. It took about twenty minutes to use the restroom, but the Whiz did was it was intended to do. With more practice using the restroom on the river should become easier.

We are happy to report that today (Sunday) neither of us is in too much pain and we successfully completed our first Missouri River paddle!

Laminated maps of the Missouri River to show wingdike and current locations

Honeybee got to shop at Saks for 40 minutes while we drove back for our paddles.

Donning smiles of excitement and nervousness before entering the Missouri River.

Off to a good start!

Now Danielle can keep an eye on activity back in the bow. #RearviewMirror

Obligatory paddle selfie.

Approaching the Daniel Boone Bridge, where "Highway 40" crosses the Missouri River.

Daniel Boone Bridge. Rivermile 44.

You don't get this view every day.

Just passed the Daniel Boone Bridge.

Whiz Freedom comes highly recommended by Danielle!

Howard Bend Treatment Facility. Rivermile 35.

We made it! Frontier Park.  Rivermile 29.0.