Here is a summary of my paddling, training, racing and lifestyle changing activities in 2011:

Paddling

I paddled and trained on the South Platte River in winter and then on my local lakes in northern Colorado: Horsetooth Reservoir, Boyd Lake, Lonetree, Boedecker and Beaver Pond.

Racing

No ultra marathon races in 2011. I couldn’t participate in the Missouri River 340 Race postponed till October. I paddled only in the 10 mile Colorado River Race in Glenwood Canyon dominated by stand-up paddlers. For me, it was a very intense workout in my Sea Wind canoe.

Packrafting

I started packrafting with Alpacka Yukon packraft. After initial testing on Riverbend Ponds I did a few trips on the South Platte. I use inline skates or bike for a road shuttle.

JKK Supernova

In October I started to paddle JKK Supernova, multisport sea kayak, which I bought from Jeremy Rodgers. Supernova is a strong candidate for my self supported 2012 MR340 Race if I manage to make a seat more comfortable.

160 paddlers in 118 boats started yesterday the 6th Annual Missouri River Race 340. The race was postponed this due to flooding from the original date in July to October.

The MR340 is an endurance paddling race across the state of Missouri – 340 miles nonstop from Kansas City to St Charles with 88 hours time limit. I paddled in the first five races using 4 different boats, but always solo. Unfortunately, I couldn’t travel to Missouri this year in October. Last year, the race was also delayed because of flooding, but only by 1 month.

Well, I am paddling my local lakes in northern Colorado and I already started my countdown to the 2012 MR340.

Related posts:
Paddling and Hydrating during 2010 MR340 Race
Self Shuttle by Amtrak during Missouri River 340 Race
120 Pictures from the Missouri River 340 Race
3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race series:
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races

Yesterday, I paddled the Colorado River Race in the Glenwood Canyon – 10 miles on the Colorado River from Dotsero to Hanging Lake Area. The race is organized by Jerry Nyre from Canoe Colorado. At the same time it was also Regional Open Canoe Downriver Championships and Wildwater Race setup by Nate Lord.

I missed a couple of previous races. Last year at that time I was paddling in postponed Missouri River 340 race. This year the MR340 was canceled due to flooding. So, I took my Sea Wind canoe to the Colorado River instead.

The weather was beautiful and water level pretty high at 2400 cfs. The race was dominated by stand-up paddlers (SUP). There were about dozen of them. Certainly SUP is getting popular in Colorado. There were also two tandem canoes, two solo canoes (including my Sea Wind), a wild water racing kayak (Jeremy Rodgers), Huki surfski and one recreational kayak. I could miss somebody.

I took some pictures with Pentax Optio W30 at the start and a few at the finish. It was the staggered start. SUPs went first.

I finished the race in 1:21h more than 1 minute behind Nate. It was a great workout for me. I managed to keep a pretty even heart rate (142-146) over the entire race. See the race results below pictures.

Do I need to switch to SUP if I want to do some paddle racing in Colorado?

There are two flatwater kayak and canoe races in Colorado during the summer.

Lake Dillion Challenge (Sunday, July 31, 2011) and Colorado River Race
(Sunday, August 21, 2011)

One of the readers of my blog, who is planning to paddle 2011 Missouri River 340 race solo and self supported, sent me some questions:

1. Was the self shuttle as easy as you made it sound or was there some difficulties?
2. I suppose you carried enough food and drink to get you through? Or buy at checkpoints?
3. Did you sleep much during the race? On shore or in boat?
4. This would be my first time event of any kind in kayaking. I will be turning 50 next year and have my sights set on doing this. Are there any extra challenges for the 40+ years set to be aware of?

I paddled the MR340 race five times always solo. I was self supported in 2008, but had a shuttle, and in 2010 I was fully self supported including a shuttle. In both these races I paddled my Sea Wind canoe. I will try to answer the above question in the following posts. Let’s start from the first two.

Self shuttle

My self shuttle with Amtrak worked exactly as I described in my previous post. I believe that a key in this operation was to plan enough resting time in a local hotel at St Charles before doing the shuttle.

Of course, it would be nice to perform the entire shuttle operation before the race. I would prefer to spend Friday at a race finish instead of riding a train and driving a car. However, I have a long drive (~10 hours) from Colorado to Kansas City and prefer to spend at least a day to get adjusted to Missouri climate instead of driving between Kansas City and St Charles.

I run the 2010 Missouri River Race fully self supported including a shuttle. I finished the race as planned below 60 hours and, following day, I took Amtrak (Missouri River Runner) from St Louis to Kansas City. I could still see some canoes paddling downstream of Hermann. The entire shuttle operation went pretty smoothly. Here is a time line of my race and shuttle.
Sunday, August 22, 23:00
Arriving to Hilton Garden Inn at Kansas City after 10+ hour drive from Fort Collins, Colorado. I am always trying different routes to Kansas City. This time I drove through Nebraska.

Monday, August 23, 16:00
Leaving my empty Sea Wind canoe at Kaw Point.

Tuesday, August 24, 6:00
Loading my boat at a very tip of the Kaw Point

Tuesday, August 24, 6:40
Driving back to the hotel, leaving my car in a parking lot in front of it, walking to the Kaw Point,

Tuesday, August 24, 7:30
Launching the boat, shooting the race start.
… paddling, paddling, paddling …

Wednesday, August 25, 03:33-05:10
Glasgow
… paddling, paddling, paddling …

This is one of 500+ pictures shot from the bow of my Sea Wind canoe during this year Missouri River 340 Race. It was early during the first day of the race with sky still cloudy.

I used a waterproof Pentax Optio W30 mounted with the Sticky Pod suction cup on a front deck. The camera was set to shoot in an interval (time lapse) mode – a medium quality picture every 4 minutes. I was hoping to cover the entire race, but the battery went dead after 36 hours since I forgot to turn a camera flash off. It wasn’t a fun to be blinded by a flash every 4 minutes during night time paddling.

I posted more about my photography during 2010 MR340 race in Paddling with a Camera blog. I am also adding some pictures to my stock photography website (available to order as prints or digital download).

Hydration

I was drinking mostly water with Camelbak electrolyte tablets + two Hammer Endurolytes capsules every hour or so. No typical energy or power drink except 3 bottles of Ensure Plus per day and some Starbucks DoubleShots for dessert. I had a lot of semi real food during this race. After all it was a paddling from one barbecue (aka checkpoint) to another. No stomach problems!

I was paddling self supported this year. I didn’t use any ice during the race. I was just buying a cold water at checkpoints. The cooler weather of late August was great.

My drinking during Texas Water Safari used to be quite different, more “race oriented”, and included some energy and recovery drinks, but always more diluted than recommended. And, I always had more or less serious stomach upsets.

What is your hydration experience from ultra marathon paddling races?

The 5th Missouri River 340 Race from Kansas CIty to St Charles starts tomorrow. The race was postponed by month due to flooding on the Missouri River. The water level is still very high. Late August, shorter days, hopefully cooler than in July, but still full moon. It may be somewhat different than usual.

I am paddling Sea Wind canoe this year. It will be a fully self supported race for me including a shuttle. I will be testing a new option for a shuttle and I will have a chance to see the river three times from a different perspective. I will try to shoot some pictures at least at the start, but it’s quite hazy a day before the race.

I wonder how many paddlers will manage to attend the postponed race.

Related posts from Missouri River 340 Races

120 Pictures from the Missouri River 340 Race
3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race series:
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races

10 miles
class I
divisions for canoes & sea kayaks

The Dotsero to Hanging Lake Race will be on Sunday August 22nd.
Registration will begin at 6:30 at the put-in, shuttle leaving 7:00, races start 8:00

Entry fee is $10 per person CASH!

The Dotsero launch is on the SE corner of the old hwy 6/ Green Bridge over the Colorado River at Dotsero. Take I-70 west to exit 133 and follow the frontage road.

Hanging Lake is a rest area inside Glenwood Canyon. It’s currently closed, but will re-open around August 1st.

Prizes for each division are all entry fees + $100, split 50-30-20 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place

There is also a prize drawing with over $500 worth of paddling goodies, with all race participants names drawn out of the hat for that drawing. Prizes often include good paddles, PFD’s, guidebooks, drybags, throwbags, and assorted odds and ends. Even if you don’t win a cash prize, you’ll probably win something in the drawing (lots of prizes, first name pulled chooses first and we keep pulling names until we run out of prizes or names).

I supposed to finish packing my boat today and to start driving tomorrow to Kansas City for the 5th Missouri River 340 Race. However, the race has been postponed for a month due flooding conditions on the river. So, instead of packing I went through pictures shot by me and Connie during four years of the race (2006-2009). I selected 120 pictures for the slide show below (it looks better in a full screen mode).

Most of these pictures came from the first race in 2006. Each race I am paddling faster which leaves less time and energy for photography. I used one of my Pentax Optio waterproof camera. In 2008 when I paddled Sea Wind canoe I also took my Canon D40 DSLR to photograph the race start.

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
My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races
Which Boat to Paddle in 2010 MR340 Race?
My 2009 Missouri River Race as Recovered from a GPS Track
Speed: My 2008 Missouri River 340 Race as Recovered from a GPS Track
GPS/photo race log from Missouri River 340
How to Choose a Boat for an Ultra Marathon Race? The Case of Missouri River 340