Dispatch #5 [2024]
07-15-24
Hello veteran racers and soon-to-be MR340 veterans!
Your final dispatch of 2024! This time next week I will have seen each of you at Kaw Point Park!
Check out this video of race finish, race start, and race course updates.
Race Check-In
Monday July 22, 2024 from Noon-8pm each racer will come to Kaw Point Park to check-in.
You will stop at four stations:
1. Check your info- your final chance to update your racer and boat information.
2. Turn in your wavier that indicates you watched the 2024 Safety Video
3. RaceOwl Check-in. Your first check-in for the race is Kaw Point Park on Monday, see the racer RaceOwl Zoom from last week or the resource page for help setting up your tracking. Get your tracker shared to RacOwl and/or the app ready on your phone.
Ground crews can attend the RaceOwl Zoom this Thursday at 6:30pm. (see the facebook group, featured posts pinned to the top and msg Jon for the link).
Give your ground crews Barbara Edington’s phone number. (409) 659-5146 if they have any RaceOwl related questions while tracking you, give her a call!
4. Pick up your race swag bag with your racer tshirt, Missouri American Water Rubber Duckie, and Safety Card.
Race Day Parking
Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The parking lot at Kaw Point Park fills up early! Usually by 5am! Check out the parking map and plan accordingly. Be there early, well before your race start time (7am for solos, 8am for all other divisions). Hopefully your boat is already staged there in the park. This year we will again have the option to park in the huge municipal lot #4 for free, between 5am and 9am, located between State Ave and Minnesota. If you’re staying at the Hilton, you’re good to go using their parking and walking over.
Most racers and crew need to plan to park outside Kaw Point Park Tuesday morning at one of the lots available and walk in via the Riverfront Heritage Trail that comes right into Kaw Point Park. There will be no drop off zones at Kaw Point Park for racers, crew or boats.
Race Day Launching
Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The start time for solos is 7am, the start time for all other divisions is 8am. There will once again be two lines to launch from the ramp. You can also launch from the point or anywhere along the bank. Check out this video for photos. When you are in line, be ready to go! This is not the time or place to adjust your gear. When you launch, head over to the bank or upstream in the Kansas River to wait until the starting signal. The start line runs from the downstream edge of the ramp across the river. All racers must start behind that line. See the video for more information on Race Day Start, Parking, what a delay to race start would look li
Please check your information one more time- look over each field carefully. Let me know if there are any changes that need to be made.
Photo by Chris Hammond RainbowMarks 2023
Night One
Row, Row your boat, gently down the Missouri River at night.
In the last dispatch we talked about your first day. Which ramps do you plan to stop to resupply. What’s your back up plan if you’re going faster or slower than expected.
If you are at Waverly and wanting to stop, push on to Hill’s Island. If you reach Miami and can continue, go on to Dalton Bottoms. Shoot for Glasgow if it’s within your reach. Do what you can on day one while you’re still energized and riding the thrill of the race to set yourself up for success on day two and the distance you need for day three or four to hit your time.
What’s your sleep plan? Set your allotted time on land for changing clothes, sleeping, getting up to get back on the water in your allotted time. Add it all up and have a set time ready to go. Have your ground crew hold you to the set time limit.
Think about that first night. Many of you will enter a conga line of kayaks and canoes the first night. It’s exciting! As night darkens, find another boat and stick together through the night miles if you can. I recall in 2020 watching what I dubbed the “mating dance of canoes”. Rudderless canoes in front of us, watching their lights as they zigged and zagged and sudden bursts of light as they spotted buoys. The dance of lights kept us entertained for miles. The night can be dark if the moon is covered by clouds. Stay alert and know your abilities and limits.
If you run into fog, find a ramp to pull out if you can. We were stuck on a muddy bank for hours when fog suddenly appeared, and we were stranded too far from Miami to go upstream and too far from Dalton Bottoms. We learned through dispatch the fog was stretching for 120 miles. It was early morning hours near 2am when it hit. I was in the back of a tandem kayak and couldn’t see my partner, we couldn’t see the edges of our paddles or our hands. By sunrise it began to burn off and we could see the haze in the photos below.
Be sure your lights are not too bright that you lose your night vision and blind yourself or those behind you. You can tape off the back section of the lights to block the light coming directly back at you.
It’s nice to have a dry top to change into at night. I cut the legs off 2 pairs of fleece leggings to have at night when I would get chilly from the air temp and exertion. I pulled those up over my legs and arms, attaching the tops to my life jacket. I’d dip my hand in the river as night approached and during the night to test and when the water felt warm, I put on the fleece. Know yourself. Have your rain gear ready to cover your legs from splashes. Plan to get that gear ready to go before it’s too dark to see well at your last ramp stop in daylight. Have your headlamp near to grab if you need. Make sure your ground crew turns on your boat lights before your last day time stop or have your remote for your Guardian Angel lights near you, ready to turn on.
Jeff City can be confusing to launch at night with all the lights around. Picture it, what you know it looks like in the daylight.
Be sure you know how to approach the ramp you’re stopping at in the night. It won’t look the same shrouded in dark.
The banks will seem closer and train lights or the parking lot lights at Chamois can make it hard to understand what you’re seeing. Trust the research you’ve done. Listen to your ground crew, the ramp volunteers, and the safety boats.
Be alert to the sounds of hazards in the water you hear at night. If you think you’re hearing a shark splashing about- move, it’s a buoy. If you think you see a nun kneeling near a beach- it’s a buoy, probably in Lisbon Bottoms. If you hear rushing water making you wonder if you’re about to fall off what must be a flat earth, it’s probably a log jam near a chute. If a bright light suddenly spotlights you- you’re not being abducted, move out of the channel, it’s a barge. (Or it’s a helicopter dropping supplies to team Sleipnir’s Doomsword Ascends to Valhalla, call safety dispatch and report them. jk 😊)
Enjoy the experience of paddling/pedaling/rowing at night on the Missouri River, an experience not many will ever know.
Ground crew, watch out when moving your vehicle, there will be people sleeping on the ground all around!!!
Then the morning rises and day 2 is ahead of you. Push through the tired and monotony of the nonstop paddling/rowing/pedal. Ask friends to come cheer you on!
What is your plan for eating as a solo, tandem or team? Do you stop paddling and eat quickly? Do plan to have one person always paddling or will everyone take a break and float while you eat?
Plans change but starting with an idea to go with at first will help you. There's benefit to always paddling if the pace is worth the exertion. Some boat may find it better to stop and all be fully paddling vs partially paddling. Some will plan for liquid only meals to not stop at all.
It’s your race. There are a myriad of plans and ideas that are great to use and tweak but, in the end, it’s your race.
I can’t wait to see you at the finish line day 2, day 3, or day 4! We’ll be there ready to cheer you in!
Photography
Chris Hammond of RainbowMarks Photography will once again be taking photos for the race! Be sure to stop by his spot at the finish line and check out online to get prints and copies!
Race Finish Line Party
Once you reach St Charles Ramp, park your boat, take a photo under the finish sign, and grab some food! Check our Merch tents and our sponsor tents. Come back Friday at 5:30pm to eat tacos purchased from the Lewis & Clark BoatHouse and Muesum and beer from Schlafly. At 6pm our music will be in full swing on the stage with a live band. At 7pm we'll kick off the awards ceremony. We'll finish at 9pm by cheering in the last boat!
You’ve done the work, put in the practice, and are prepared to go! See you in a few days at Kaw Point Park!
Don't forget to buy tickets for one of the amazing raffles going on!
Some Beach Outfitters and Llama Racks are raffling off 5 amazing prizes that will be drawn separately at the finish line awards show. You don't have to be present to win. Tickets are only$20!!
Truth Outdoors will have a raffle for a kayak/canoe light set with an armband and gator clip. The winner will be drawn at the race start at their sponsor booth. Purchase at ticket for $10. You don't have to be present to win!
TS Paddles will be raffling off a hand carved wooden canoe paddle based on the stories of last year's race! A one of a kind paddle! Winner will be drawn at the finish line. You don't have to be present to win! Tickets are $15!
All raffle proceeds benefit Missouri River Relief.
See you soon!
Taby Lane
Race Manager
Thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this all possible!
