Here are a few tips for Team Captains (land crew) and paddlers in long distance races like Missouri River 340, based on my experience. They are, perhaps, most appropriate for paddler/ground-crew-spouse combinations. Of course, every couple is different, so be your own best judge as to how to do things. Also, I’ve only been part of a “one-solo, one ground crew” team. It’s always been Marek in the boat and me alone on the shore. I’m sure that larger teams have their own dynamics.
1. Paddlers, please provide your ground crews with as good driving directions as possible. Don’t expect that your spouse will do this by him or herself. Not everyone lives, eats, sleeps and breathes MR 340 as you do. Weird, I know, but there it is.
2. Ground crews – you will get lost. It’s ok, don’t panic. Just persevere and you’ll eventually find your way there. If all else fails, as you near the river and can’t find the access point go downhill. I think it was Daniel Boone that said, “I’ve never been lost. Sometimes I’ve just been very confused for a few days.” Also, the more tired you get, the harder it gets to find the access points. Expect to take some wrong turns and try not to blame yourself or anyone else.
3. Ground crew drivers – rest as well as you can and try not to drive when you are sleep-deprived. As important as this race is, it’s not worth running down somebody’s child in your car because you are too tired to keep one eye on the map and one eye on the road. Each of us has a remarkable brain which allows us to function while parts of it are actually asleep. Try to avoid this. Would you ever forgive yourself if you killed somebody with your car? Make plans with your paddler before the race about where and when you will sleep, taking into consideration how long it takes to make and strike camp, that you may have to park some distance away from your camping site (especially at busier checkpoints), that driving takes longer than it seems like it should, and so on. This will undoubtedly add to your race time, but it’s the price of being a responsible human being.
4. Dad Paddlers, reconsider whether you really want your wife to take care of the kids while also being your ground support in the race. Any effort made to take care of the kids will take energy that could otherwise be used to take care of you. Being ground support is truly exhausting. Even such a small thing like keeping up the ice supply is hard – I went through 90 lbs. of ice for Marek’s last race, and that was just for one solo paddler and one camping ground crew (me). If you want the kids to be part of the experience, try to have at least one adult to take care of you and one adult to take care of the kids.
5. Ground Crews – try to eat healthy foods during the race, also monitoring your electrolites and water intake. It is tempting to just stop at fast food places to eat, or to just eat the Boy Scout hot dogs sold along the race course. I’ve found, however, that I get through the races much more happily if I eat healthy foods during the race. Except for Dairy Queen – I love Dairy Queen.
6. And finally, if you as ground crew, arrive to a checkpoint a little late and have to choose between a) staying at the car to get the stuff ready to bring to your paddler, or b) meeting your paddler when he or she arrives at the bottom of the ramp, go to the ramp now and then go back to the car after you meet up to resupply. Marek tells me that the most important thing for him is seeing someone there waiting for him. It seems that the moral support is more important to him than fresh water. It’s best to have everything there and ready or course, but getting lost or over-sleeping – these things can happen, and it’s a real downer for a paddler to reach a boat ramp expecting to have their ground team there and find themselves alone and uncared for.
7. I like to have a couple of extra bottles of water or Gatoraide in the cooler during the hot parts of the day, ready on hand for paddlers who have arrived at a ramp and find themselves without their expected crew. It seems to really cheer them up while they’re waiting for their bank crew to find them. Unlike Water Safari, we’re allowed to do this in the MR 340 and I think it really adds to the camaraderie of the race.
I hope these suggestions help to make the race experience as good as possible for both paddler and bank crew.
Connie
Team Captain: 4 x TWS, 4 x MR340
Related posts:
Adventures of a Team Captain – 4 Years of Texas Water Safari in Retrospect
12 tips for Team Captains and 10 Tips for Paddlers Starting in Texas Water Safari
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