Glutton for Punishment?

It's all for fun! Having decided to paddle/sail the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge in Class 3 with a Kruger SeaWind and Balogh Sail Rig, I need a Class 1 paddling race.

The world's longest non-stop river race.

Kansas City to St. Charles, Mo

July 24-28, 2007

I had read about the Missouri River 340 race last year, WaterTribe alum Marek (Wayfarer) and Dawn Keller (TurtleWoman), both participated last year, and Marek's well known fit2paddle blog often has pictures and postings about the race. It would be a lot of fun to paddle in a race where the water is moving in the direction your paddling.

The MO340 website says "The Missouri is believed to be an Indian word for "community of the large canoes." It seems to be the mother river, if for no other reason that length alone." It is a fast river. Sounds just perfect for my Kruger Dreamcatcher.

In describing the race they say:

Imagine a race across the entire state of Missouri, just you and your boat thrown against 340 miles of wind, heat, bugs and rain. This ain’t no mama’s boy float trip. This race promises to test your mettle from the first stroke in Kansas City to the last gasp in St. Charles. Just entering it will impress your friends. Finishing it will astound them… and winning it? Well, you always thought you were sort of a legend anyway, didn’t you? It’s time to prove it.

The Missouri 340 is an endurance race across the state of Missouri. Competitors will start in Kansas City and finish, some of them anyway, in St. Charles. With numerous towns and hamlets, the course offers plenty of opportunity for resupply while enroute. The Missouri River is also incredibly scenic and isolated in some stretches, with wildlife and beautiful vistas to rival any river in North America. But if you're trying to win this race, you won't have time to enjoy any of it.

Participants are allowed exactly 100 hours to complete the course. There are nine checkpoints along the route where paddlers are required to sign in and sign out. Cutoff times will be associated with these checkpoints based on the 100 hour pace. Failure to miss two consecutive deadlines is grounds for disqualification. To finish this race in 100 hours is a huge accomplishment. Only 2/3 of the teams were able to do that last year.

My husband has coined a new name for it, the Misery 340. What can I say, we all have our own definition of fun. I'm still working on the logistics and haven't sent in the registration yet. I'm considering a tandem invite (Kruger Cruiser of course), else I'll go paddle in the solo female division.