No Mama’s Boy Float Trip – A 340-mile river race across the state of Missouri
Published: August 8, 2012
Original presentation by Scott Mansker
Founder of Rivermiles and race organizer of the Missouri American Water MR340- Kansas City, MO
August 8, 2012
The website for the MR340 says: “Imagine a race across the entire state of Missouri, just you and your boat thrown against 340 miles of wind, heat, bugs and rain. This ain’t no mama’s boy float trip. This race promises to test your mettle from the first stroke in Kansas City to the last gasp in St. Charles. Just entering it will impress your friends. Finishing it will astound them… and winning it? Well, you always thought you were sort of a legend anyway, didn’t you? It’s time to prove it.”
One of the world’s most challenging physical endurance tests happens right here on the Missouri River. The 7th Annual Missouri American Water MR340 took place July 31 – Aug. 3 from Kansas City, KS to St. Charles, MO. Paddlers must make the journey in 88 hours or less, with the fastest boats finishing the trip in a day and a half. Just a few days after the end of this year’s epic race, organizer Scott Mansker joined a panel of paddlers and race volunteers to discuss how the race works, what it takes to finish and why it’s become the biggest event on the Missouri River.
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Resources
- Presentation Flier (pdf)»
- Missouri American Water MR340 homepage»
- Follow the race in real time here»
- Informative race forum, where organizers and racers share info, tips and stories from the front lines of the race»
- Scott Mansker and Jodi Pfefferkorn produced a one-season documentary series on the river called “Rivermiles”. Click here to purchase your copy, and to check out other race related videos (proceeds benefit Missouri River Relief)»
- Missouri River Relief “River Notes” blog posts on the race»
- Race course map»
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Friends of Lakeside Nature Center
- Missouri River Relief
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
- Kansas City Digital Video
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org. Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online! The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.
