Yesterday night, me and Connie returned back to Colorado from the 4th Missouri River 340 Race. 272 boats entered the race. The start was little different this year due to morning thunderstorm with heavy showers. Otherwise, the weather was great with beautiful full moon nights.
I paddled Surfrigger, my outrigger canoe and completed the race in 61:11 hours, a few hours longer than planned. I believe I was 12th of 94 registered, 90 starters, 64 finishers in the men’s solo class. 340 miles by boat, 2200 miles by car.
This is my first post related to the 2009 MR340 – some pictures from the Kaw Point – a confluence of Kaw and Missouri River with a Kansas City skyline. I will be writing more about the race. I haven’t checked my GPS track yet, neither pictures shot by Connie.
August 2, 2009. A quiet Sunday evening at the Kaw Point with a skyline of Kansas City and a silhouette of Lewis and Clark. 36 hour later, many racers including myself launched their boats just here from the very tip at confluence of Missouri and Kaw Rivers. The moon is getting full specially for the race.
The Kaw Point boat ramp is still occupied by fishermen, but first racers are showing up for some test paddling
August 4, 2009. 8:07. Waiting for the the race start. The start was delayed by one and half hour due to thunderstorm.
Wet racers are gathering along the right shore of Kaw River across the boat ramp
A beautiful skin-on-frame kayak
Two Thunderbolt kayaks are moving to a start line
David and Will Anderson warming up. They were the overall winners in 38:59 hours.
Los Humungos Paddleos
I could not help myself and shot this “environmental” picture. It reminds me my visit to the Dundee beach at mile 76.5 during the first MR340. I stopped at the Dundee this year again and took a short nap there. The spot wasn’t really clean but looked much better with a garbage can.
Related posts from Missouri River 340 Races
3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race series:
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
Do I Need GPS for the Missouri River 340 Race?
How to Choose a Boat for an Ultra Marathon Race? The Case of Missouri River 340
- 2008 MR-340
- 12 Pictures from 2008 Missouri River 340 Race
- The Pitch: Missouri River 340 Stories by Carolyn Szczepanski
- Speed: My 2008 Missouri River 340 Race as Recovered from a GPS Track
- The End of My Photography during the 2008 Missouri River 340 Race
- Sunrise Paddling on the Missouri River
- 2008 Missouri River 340 Race Start in Pictures from Kaw Point
- 2007 MR-340
- 2007 Missouri River 340 Race in Pictures: 1. Kayaks and Canoes Starting at the Kaw Point
- 2007 Missouri River 340 Race in Pictures: 2. Kansas City to Boonsville
- 2007 Missouri River 340 Race in Pictures: 3. Cooper’s Landing to St Charles
- 2007 Missouri River 340 Race in Pictures: 4. At the Finish
- 2006 MR-340
Marek:
I can not believe that is you we were posing for in that picture before the start of the race. fit2paddle himself and I did not even know. I wish I had a chance to talk to you because I am a HUGE fan of your site. In fact your site was often a reference for La Casa de Humungos when we had no clue what to expect in an ultra endurance race. When I began my MR340 quest, I often looked to fit2paddle. No lie, I can truly say that I do not think we would have done as well as we did without much of the inforamtion that I read from your site. We came in third overall with a time of just over 43 hours. A huge muchas gracias from all of us! I wish I could have only told you that in person, sorry. Well, there is always next year 🙂
Cheers,
Wally “Mastodontico” Werderich
Los Humungos Paddleos
Marek:
That was you who took our picture? Mr. fit2paddle himself and I did not even know. Dang, I am a HUGE fan too! I wish I had the opportunity to thank you in person. I can honestly say that I do not think we would have done as good as we did without the help of your site. When I first started to looking into endurance racing, your site was one of the first I scoured through. It truly helped too. Los Humungos Paddleos finished 3rd overall in the MR340 with a time a little over 43 hours. Believe it or not, I think you and the information on your site are big part of the success of Los Humungos. So on behalf of La Casa de Humungos Paddleos, Muchas Gracias. Next time I would like to say it in person, however. Perhaps next year???
Buritos and Tequila to you sir,
Wally “Mastodontico” Werderich
Los Humungos Paddleos
Wally,
Thanks for you comments. For some reasons they were trapped in a spam filter.
It was easy to talk to everybody during first two MR340 races. Now, this thing is getting a little bit too big.
Marek
Fantastic pics, this looks like alot of fun. Some great articles on this blog for anyone interested in fitness paddling.