Solo stand up paddlers in Missouri River 340 race

Can you stand for 60 or 70 hours? What about stand up paddling 340 miles on the Missouri River? Stand up paddling in the Missouri River 340 race was pioneered by Shane Perrin in 2011. After three solo SUP finishes he moved on to building and racing bigger team paddleboards.

There were no solo SUP entries in 2014 and there were no regular race in 2019. The solo SUP class was present in the MR340 in 10 years. I’ve tried to summarize SUP race results below. Mitch Anderson holds the record in men’s SUP class 44:39 (2018), and Lauren Rodriguez made a record run in women’s SUP class of 49:31 in 2022.

10 years of SUP class in MR340 race

2011

1. Shane Perrin 66:39

2012

1. Shane Perrin 66:41

2013

1. Shane Perrin 64:52
2. John Straub 79:11

2014

2015

1. Blake Thornton 60:28
2. John Straub 65:19

2016

1. Bart de Zwart 51:16
2. Mitch Anderson 52:12
3. Joanne Hamilton-Vale 61:26
4. Blake Thornton 64:49
5. Colin Watts 69:32
6. Lauren Rodriguez 76:50
7. Frank Dreiling 76:50
8. Ryan Fullerton 77:09
9. Phil Rodway 80:23
10. Chip Walter 80:2
11. Nathan Waldera 80:26
12. Mike Zink 82:57
13. Jerry Joe Alfafara 84:54

2017

1. Mitch Anderson 52:23
2. Phil Rodway 56:37
3. Scott Baste 60:27
4. Lauren Rodriguez 62:24
5. Blake Thornton 64:16
6. Marek Uliasz 67:04
7. Kirk Kaiser 80:15
8. Ikuzo Fujimura 80:15
9. Kirk Ecton 82:10

2018

1. Mitch Anderson 44:39
2. Phil Rodway 52:59
3. Blake Thornton 56:16
4. Marek Uliasz 57:18
5. Shane Camden 66:57
6. Ian Russell Whittall 67:01
7. Don Ponay 78:22
8. Steve Perez 78:37

2019

2020

1. Mitch Anderson 51:16
2. Peter Bjorklund 59:36
3. Dan Strieker 60:40
4. Steve Perez 61:32
5. Blake Thornton 61:32
6. Nick Sobczynski 61:38

2021

1. Mitch Anderson 48:36
2. Peter Bjorklund 53:04
3. Lauren Rodriguez 53:04
4. Jeff Holley 56:11
5. Michael Carson 58:58
6. Javier Diaz 59:39
7. Trey Kerby 60:11
8. Lyn Harris 61:20
9. John Knippers 63:47
10. Eric Baugh 65:14
11. Mark Gamewell 65:14
12. Blake Thornton 65:16
13. Arthur Loub 65:16
14. Steve Perez 65:16
15. Peter Osinski 75:57
16. Bart King 79:40
17. Emily Matthews 79:44
18. Nabeel Saleh 80:45
19. Alex Joseph 82:05
20. Billy Bender 82:05
21. Bailey Nash 82:11
22. Kris Dodson 82:34
23. Aaron Duenke 84:41

2022

1. Peter Bjorklund 49:19
2. Lauren Rodriguez 49:31
3. Mitch Anderson 49:32
4. John Knippers 51:58
5. Javier Diaz 54:02
6. Jeff Holley 55:03
7. David Harper 56:33
8. Jeremy Stanton 57:54
9. Mark Gamewell 63:54
10. Arthur Loub 66:15
11. Trey Kerby 66:49
12. Jon Kill 68:21
13. Steve Perez 68:21
14. Blake Thornton 72:04
15. Melissa Dielschneider 72:04
16. Dan Strieker 75:11
17. Scott Embretson 75:46
18. Don Ponay 75:47
19. Corey Sapp 76:03
20. Michael Glosemeyer 76:03
21. Brian Duncan 78:43
22. Katie Raymon 80:14
23. Jane Cotton 81:29

SUP paddlers with most finishes

Here is another look at the result data: veteran SUP paddlers with most finishes. Blake Thornton is the most frequent finisher with the 7 completed races followed by Mitch Anderson with 6 very fast races, Lauren Rodriguez and Steve Perez, both 4 finishes.

My SUP runs in MR340

My last MR340 races in 2017 and 2018 were on stand up paddleboards. After several races with my Seawind expedition canoe I decided that I need something more challenging. And, I’ve got it!

2017

Boat: Starboard Expedition 14×30 SUP
Finish time: 67:04
Self supported race with a shuttle by Amtrak, my first MR340 on a paddleboard. A heavy board, certainly an overkill for a river race. That model was used by Bart de Zwart for multi day ocean expedition. Earlier this year I completed two shorter races on the Missouri River in South Dakota (72 and 50 miles), but on a lighter Starboard All Star 14X28 board.

2018

Boat: Starboard All Star 14×28 SUP
Finish time: 57:18
Self supported race with a usual shuttle by Amtrak, my second MR340 on a paddleboard. I was aiming for 58 hours, so the race went as planned, just my GPS didn’t work. Do you really need a GPS for MR340? Earlier this year I completed 72 miles South Dakota Kayak Challenge on a lighter Starboard All Star 14X26 board.

2023 ?

Seawind canoe or SUP? This year I am probably spending more time dealing with arthritis in my hands than paddling and training. However, the Starboard Waterline paddleboard is a candidate for MR340 run. It’s a fast touring board, so I can be a tourist on the Missouri River. So far, I completed the Mean Lamine race in late April on this board.

Inflatable SUPs in MR340

Blake Thornton has provided a list of finishers on inflatable stand up paddleboards in MR340:

• 2016 Joe Alfafara 84:54
• 2017 Blake Thornton 64:15
• 2017 Ikuzo Fujimura 80:15
• 2018 Blake Thornton 56:16
• 2018 Dhon Ponay 78:22
• 2020 Blake Thornton 61:22
• 2021 Trey Kerby 60:11
• 2021 John Knippers 63:47
• 2021 Blake Thornton 65:16
• 2021 Arte Loub 65:16
• 2021 Alex Joseph 82:05
• 2021 Billy Bender 82:05
• 2022 Jeremy Stanton 57:54
• 2022 Arte Loub 66:15
• 2022 Blake Thornton 72:04
• 2022 Melissa Dielschneider 72:04
• 2022 Brian Duncan 78:43

I almost paddled an inflatable SUP in 2018 race. My Toyota 4runner was in a body shop for a longer while and I was getting ready to drive a rental car with inflatable Red Voyager SUP to the race. I didn’t like to do this long drive with improvised roof racks. Fortunately, my car was ready a few day before my MR340 trip.