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!