I'd done the Missouri River 340 canoe race in 2012. It was over 100 degrees every day. Used a recreational canoe, which is a dumb choice for this race, and completed in 80 hours.

My son said he wanted to do it with me, but I kind of hoped he wasn't committed. I had already decided if I did it again it'd be in a faster boat, with GPS, and with only 3 possible bowmen. My son was on the list of 3.

I had a faster canoe, my son borrowed a GPS from a friend. It was on. Main problem, my son is busy with a new landscaping business and didn't train, which worried both of us a bit. Not like I was really trained with about 10 hours of paddling to prepare for the longest canoe race in the world. My son is a tough athlete having met many challenges to mind and body. His mind is as tough as his body and neither have much quit in them.

We really wanted to finish in under 60 hours, and were happy we had a chance when we completed the first half in under 30. He paddled hard and inspired me. 15 minutes of sleep the first night for me, 5 minutes for him. His yoga training helped him work through pain as he removed painful spots with breathing exercises.

One problem, particularly when you don't train, is blisters. I knew to deal with them early with tape and gloves, and was surprised he didn't listen to me about gloves early on. Apparently shoveling and raking had toughened his hands enough to endure nearly 62 hours of paddling. One stint with gloves for him, a little tape, and no complaints.

Our GPS failed the first time we turned it on which made travel on the river at night less safe, a little slower, and a bit scary. We lost an hour when a barge passed and tossed in the towel on our 60 hour finish goal. We tied to the bank and slept for two hours, woke refreshed and had a good day 3 to finish in 61:45. A 5.5 MPH average.

So proud of the brave, tough and inspiring man my son is. We have a bond of accomplishment to add to many others. We'll never forget our time on the river, how it challenged us and we mostly won.

Nicely done. You know there are faster ways to travel down a river, right?

Wow!

quote:

Originally posted by caneau:
Nicely done. You know there are faster ways to travel down a river, right?

I've found that an inner-tube tied to the back of a pontoon boat works well......until the boat captain starts drinking.


Congratulations with your accomplishment!! That's incredible!!!

What a great time! Any pictures?