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?

2010 MR340: View from my bow camera (Pentax Optio W30) at the Lexington checkpoint

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 may be trying the same self shuttle with Amtrak next year or, maybe, will explore an option with a rental car. It will depend on my racing goals and a boat. I am considering something radically different …

Food and water

I packed my food for the entire race and had always enough water to cover two checkpoint sections. I ended up buying cold water and some food (hot dogs, barbecue, banana) at each checkpoint. I didn’t spent more than 10 minutes at any checkpoint and, usually, was eating my meal when paddling or floating on the river. I had a sitting breakfast (pancakes) and coffee at the Hermann checkpoint just before sunrise. I finished the race with a surplus of my “racing” food. I will packed much lighter for the next year. I already talked about my hydration.

Keep in mind that I am racing in a cruising mode. I would packed and eat differently if I would really try to race.

Related posts:
Self Shuttle by Amtrak during Missouri River 340 Race
Paddling and Hydrating during 2010 Missouri River 340 Race
My Photography During the 2010 Missouri River 340 Race