Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
Ultra Marathon Paddling: Tips on preparing for the MR340 and other irrationally long races
Presentation by Bryan Hopkins, MO. Dept. of Natural Resources and veteran kayak racer
Original presentation, June 2, 2015, at Les Bourgeois Bistro, Rocheport, MO.
Second Presentation, November 24, 2015 at Westport Coffeehouse Theater, Kansas City, MO.
One of the premiere paddling race courses is right in our backyard - the Missouri River. This July will be the 10th Annual Missouri American Water MR340 - a non-stop ultra-marathon paddle race across the state of Missouri from Kansas City to St. Charles. When the first MR340 was run in 2005, there were 16 boats. This year there are over 400 boats signed up. At the time the MR340 was the first race of its kind on the Big Muddy. Since then, there's been an explosion of races up and down the Lower Missouri and the Missouri River paddling community, once a bunch of isolated groups of people crazy enough to paddle the big river, has found a way to find each other.
Bryan Hopkins shared tips on rigging your boat for distance racing, nutritional strategies, training, and fundamentals such as boat selection and race strategy.
Heal so discussed the unique challenges of racing the Missouri River, such as dealing with night travel, wind, heat, insects, fog, barges, jumping carp, wing dams and staying in the channel. He will also discuss insider tips on how to reduce blisters on your hands, seat comfort, reducing chaffing, pain management and more.
Even if you don’t plan to do these crazy races…this talk will give you insight on what it is like to paddle straight thru for hours and hours on end.
Meet Your Presenter
Bryan Hopkins
, MO. Dept. of Natural Resources and veteran kayak racer
Bryan Hopkins was in that first batch of racers 10 years ago, and has grown to be a consistent contender in these long flat river races.
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
Dig in for more info on this topic:
Canoe and Kayak Races on the Missouri River
- Race for the Dome (Providence to Jefferson City - benefit for Missouri River Relief)
- Missouri American Water MR340 (hosted by Rivermiles - Kansas City to St. Charles) - the granddaddy of them all!
- Race for the Rivers (Washington to St. Charles - benefit for Greenway Network)
- South Dakota Kayak Challenge (Yankton to Sioux City) - the unchannelized Missouri
- Fort to Field 50 (Fort Randall Dam to Springfield, SD - benefit for Missouri River Relief) - the unchannelized Missouri
- Osage Fall 36 Race (Osage, Missouri and Gasconade Rivers - benefit for Missouri River Relief)
- Freedom Race and Missouri River Shootout (hosted by Midwest Paddle Racing - Jeff City and KC areas)
Missouri & Mississippi River Water Trail information
- Click to download presentation flier (pdf)
- Missouri River Water Trail website (Missouri River in the state of Missouri - managed by Mo. DNR)
- Missouri National Recreation River Water Trail (unchannelized river in South Dakota and Nebraska - managed by Missouri River Institute)
- River-Gator interactive water trail map and guide for the Lower Mississippi River, St. Louis to Baton Rouge (created by John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company)
- Mississippi River Water Trail for the Upper Mississippi River, from Saverton to St. Louis (created by American Canoe Association)
Some Great River Paddling reading - articles and books
- Book - The Complete Paddler - A guidebook for paddling the Missouri River from the Headwaters to St. Louis, MO - by David Miller
- Book - Exploring Lewis and Clark's Missouri - by Brett Dufur
- Book - Guide to Canoing the Missouri River - by Keith Drury
- Article - "Finding Flow on the Mighty Mo" - by Brett Dufur, Missouri Conservationist
- Article - "57 feet and Rising" - Outside Magazine article of John Ruskey's canoe adventure riding the crest of the 2011 Mississippi River flood.
- Blog - Love Your Big Muddy Expedition - a chronicle of Janet Moreland's Source to Sea expedition on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
- Facebo0k - Missouri River Paddlers Facebook group - an engaged community of local and long distance Missouri River paddlers hosted by Norm Miller, who kayaked the entire Missouri River - upstream in 2004.
Missouri River Paddling guides and outfitters
- Big Muddy Adventures (St. Louis area and beyond)
- Mighty Mo Canoe Rentals (Rocheport)
- Missouri River Rafting and Canoe (St. Joseph)
- Missouri River Excursions (St. Charles & St. Louis areas)
- River Run Rentals (Kansas City area)
The Big Muddy Speaker Series in Rocheport
is hosted by these wonderful partners.
- Missouri River Relief
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (USFWS)
- Les Bourgeois Vineyards
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
Click here for a list of upcoming presentations»
Special thanks to Les Bourgeois Vineyards for giving us the opportunity to use their beautiful space overlooking the Missouri River. All speakers are presenting for free! Thank you all for sharing your knowledge with us!
The Big Muddy Speaker Series also takes place monthly in Kansas City and St. Charles.
The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.
Upcoming Presentations
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event