Dispatch #5 [2025]

July 4, 2025

Hello Racers!

It's the final stretch before the big day!

We are just loving the building energy and can't wait to see you all on Monday at Race Check-In at Kaw Point!

And you know....I just love all your boat names. There's some really great ones! This community is a lot of fun, full of interesting characters and is still totally serious when it comes down to getting it done. Can't wait to spend a week with all of you!

Take a peek back at the previous Dispatches. There's a lot in that last Dispatch about these next few days that I don't need to repeat here.

Here's a few things I'm going to touch on in this email -

Mandatory Safety Video
Boat Numbers
Evolving Weather Forecast
A couple RaceOwl Things
Race Check-In
Race Start
- Put-in Options
- KC Current MR340 Watch Party
Official Race Photography by RainbowMarks Photography

MR340 Safety Video

Here's the link to the 2025 MR340 Safety Video. YOU MUST WATCH THIS before the race!

Boat Numbers

Everyone's favorite subject! As you know, we have assigned race numbers this year, and they are assigned based on what division you are in.

Check the Roster (or this Dispatch email) for your boat number.

Please purchase your race numbers if you have not already!

We will have a few extra number stickers at Race Check-In, but not many.

What we require:

At least 3 inches tall
Reflective
High Contrast between number and background.
Mailbox numbers you can find at any hardware store are great.

For those that already have numbers installed on your boat...some folks are covering their old numbers wtih duct-tape, then intalling new numbers over the tape.

The Weather in Missouri....

The forecast for the week is beginning to crystalize, but the specifics are still pretty fuzzy. It's possible there could be some surprises developing as we get closer. Here's what we are seeing -

In general, high temps in the mid to upper 80's. 90 for Race Check-In on Monday.
Lows in the high 60's, but it often feels cooler on the river.
Fog looks likely, with dewpoints and temps pretty close in the early mornings.
Monday (so far) is looking pretty dry. There is a chance of a storm Tuesday morning for Race Start. We'll be keeping an eye on that of course.
For the remainder of the week, there are chances of showers or thunderstorms pretty much everyday. Currently those chances range from 20% to 40%. So it is likely these will be scattered, not everywhere but potentially still very powerful.
After making it through one or two storms without issue, it's easy to get complacent. Don't do that! It really sucks to be out in the middle of the river when a crazy wind from a big approaching storm suddenly kicks up and you are in a washing machine. Communicate to each other about the weather forecast. Keep an eye behind you as things develop and get to a safer location before the storm hits.
There will be a lot of sun, but also a lot of clouds, which will be a real relief during the day and a pain at night!
Wind looks relatively mild throughout the week at this point...6-8 mph most days. Obviously that will change when storms appear!

River Levels

The river is dropping steadily throughout the race course. Here's the link to checkout the gages.

Sandbars in some locations are beginning to emerge. In many locations, wing dikes are getting into that sketchy zone where they are just under the surface but may not yet be poking out.

This is when you really need to pay attention to riffles and tell-tale signs on the river surface. Pay attention to channel day markers to make sure you are in the channel, or utilize a navigation device like RaceOwlRacer.

A couple things about RaceOwl

I've got a few updates about RaceOwl.

Reminder - There are two apps!
1. RaceOwlRacer (the purple icon) is for racers to fun in their boat to auto track, auto check-in and out and use the navigation feature.
2. RaceOwl (blue icon) is for Ground Crews, Spectators and Volunteers to easily check in/out racers, track and search for racer data and on the map.
Racers! As soon as you can, please check your tracking status in RaceOwlRacer. Here's how: Open the app. Verify your registration info in the app if not already done. Click "Tracking Status" in the menu. Click the "Ping Location" bottom button. (This is also how you can check if you are tracking throughout the race!)
There have been some recent updates to the apps. Search for the app in your Google Play or Apple Store and find the update button to get the latest version.
Navigation Feature!!! Veteran MR340 Racers may have used the MR340 ProPaddler App for navigation. This is no longer supported and doesn't work well. RaceOwlRacer now has this functionality. However, you do need to pay $1.99 to activate it.

Here's how: Open RaceOwlRacer. Click menu icon on top left. Click "Add-Ons". Select the Premium selection. It will charge $1.99 to your App Store Account. THEN, you will want to close the app and reopen it. Now in the menu, there should be a "Navigation" option. That's it! You can customize a bunch of settings in there, including what data it shows default on the map screen.
Revisit our RaceOwl Resource page. We now have links on that page to two Q&A sessions walking through both apps and the RaceOwl website. Make sure your Ground Crew knows about these!

Here's what RaceOwlRacer Navigation feature looks like when you are on the river. Red line is the navigation channel line (the two green lines are the general channel). Wing dikes, the banks and shallow water show up as blue.

Mandatory Race Check-In and Boat Drop Off

Mandatory Race Check-in is Monday, July 7 at Kaw Point Park, Kansas City, KS from noon – 8 p.m.

We've already talked a lot about this, but here's a few reminders and new stuff.

You’ll need to run through all the stations in our Check-In process. It takes a little time! You can help speed up the process by:

Completing your Online Waiver!
Downloading the RaceOwl Racer App! On iOS. On Android.

Food at Race Check-In Monday

Twisted Taters Food Truck will be on hand from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. "KC's Original Loaded Fry Truck"...perfect for carb loading!
Blue Bunny Ice Cream Van
Great Blue Heron Outdoors booth will have some cold brew coffee on hand!

Race Day Parking!!!!

…Is a mess. There’s not nearly enough parking at Kaw Point Park for everyone. When the parking lot fills at Kaw Point Park (often by 5:30), volunteers and sheriffs will shut off vehicle access to the park and turn you back around onto Fairfax Trafficway.

Check out our parking map with several nearby options. You’ll already be dropping off your boat at the Park on Monday. Many people find that the easiest thing Tuesday morning to do is to skip the frustrating attempt at parking at Kaw Point and just park at one of these outer lots (Lot 4 has the most room). Then you walk Riverfront Heritage Trail to the Park. Put your Ground Crew’s resupply wagon to its first task.

Discuss your plan with your Ground Crew.

Getting on the River Early!

Last Dispatch we discussed how important getting on the river early is. Once the two-lane line a the boat ramp develops, it moves at its own pace!

With the river dropping, there will be a lot of muddy banks, which makes access from locations other than the ramp even more difficult.

Thankfully, our friends at Big Muddy Adventures will be building one or two additional accesses with pallets to alleviate the pressure on the main boat ramp. LIkely one of these will be at the Confluence Point and there may be another. We'll spread the word. These folks excel at providing access to difficult big rivers!

KC Current Watch Party! Tues. Morning 6:30-9am

Our friends at KC Current are hosting an MR340 Watch Party on the riverbank in "front" of their stadium. FREE Parking in the Red Lot. They will also be selling coffee out of the back of their stadium.

If your friends or Ground Crew wants to drop you off, this is a good place to watch all of you paddle by. Or if you have KC friends that don't want to mess with Kaw Point Park.

Bring your own chairs! Here's a Facebook Event.

Official Race Photography by RainbowMarks Photography

At Race Start, throughout the race course and at the Finish Line, you'll see hardworking and talented photographer Chris Hammond capturing amazing shots of you and your teams at your best and worst. You can pre-purchase a package of photos before the race to make sure Chris is looking out for you.

Find out more, and browse his website to see photos from past races.

He'll have a table set up at Race Check-In at Kaw Point and he'll be at the finish. He's got an amazing website where you can purchase photos from the race afterwards as well.

Can’t wait to meet all of you!

Please don't hesitate to reach out to our Race Staff with any of your questions!

Steve Schnarr

Race Director – Missouri River Relief
racing@riverrelief.org
573-289-2077

MR340.org

2025 Dispatches

Special thank you to Missouri American Water, our title sponsor. These are the folks that transform Missouri River water into drinking water for St. Louis & St. Charles County and Jefferson City. They have already been hard at work getting the finish line ready for all of you.

And a huge shout out to our "River Captain" Sponsor Rocca AudioVisual. They have a deep connection to the Missouri River and to this race. We are so grateful for their support.

Please check out our full list of amazing Race Sponsors.