First Training Day on the Big MO River

This is a view from the start of the MR-340 with Kansas City's downtown in the background. I took off at 7:oo am and finished 40 miles later at 12:45 pm averaging just under 7 miles an hour. I was pretty pleased with how the upper body held up but was not prepared for how sore my rear end hurt after almost 6 hours in the boat. It felt like I had sat on a 2x4 the whole time. The river was very smooth and calm with the exception of a couple of encounters. Something in the river which can only be described as either a serpent or the Loch Ness jumped at my paddle as it entered the water on two separate occasions knocking both the paddle and boat with a loud thud. I nearly lept out of the boat had it not been for the rear end issues noted above. All in all a very good training day which gave me hope that finishing this race is very possible.

Drop off at the MR 340 Race Starting Line

This is my fabulous Mother-In-Law that got out of bed at 5:00 am to shuttle my truck down river 40 miles to Napoleon, MO.

Wells Fargo Bank Platinum Sponsor

I'd like to thank the Great people at Wells Fargo Bank for becoming the Platinum Sponsor for the 2009 Race to Read MR 340. I'll be paddling the "Wells Fargo Schooner" down the Big MO River. Thank you for helping Nativity of Mary School students become better readers.

Training