At least six boats from Columbia completed the 20th Missouri River 340-mile race this year, to be counted among the 272 boats that officially reached the finish line by Friday night.òòò½ÊÓÆµòòò½ÊÓÆµ
One Columbia paddleròòò½ÊÓÆµfinished No. 6 among the solo men's paddlers and No. 16 overall. Last year, Brendan Forshee paddled the 340 miles from Kansas City to St. Charles in 47 hours and 17 minutes, finishing No. 22 in the race. This year, his time was 48 hours and 41 minutes, but he ended up with a better result.
A dragonboat called Pan Am Express with a team of 10, including Christina Ruiz of Columbia, finished the race 10th overall with a time of 46 hours, 34 minutes. They reached the finish line in St. Charles at 6:34 a.m. Thursday.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
Nearly 600 paddlers initially registered to race down the Missouri River in this year's MR340. They started Tuesday morning in Kansas City and had to reach St. Charles by 9 p.m. Friday to be officially counted. More than 100 boats were unable to finish the race.òòò½ÊÓÆµòòò½ÊÓÆµ
"Your body is what suffers, I think, but it feels great to complete this one," Forshee said.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
His son, Blaine, competed in his first MR340 as a solo paddler this year and finished the race in 61 hours and 35 minutes.
"To see him finish his race was absolutely amazing as a father," Brendan Forshee said.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
"I've been around this whole community and this race for a few years," he said. "It was very cool to actually be able to accomplish that. It takes grit, there's no doubt about that."
The MR340 has been a midsummer tradition for 20 years, with paddlers and teams of boats from Missouri, other states and several countries making their way to Kansas City to compete.òòò½ÊÓÆµ
The fastest team this year had John Radford and Matt Walters inòòò½ÊÓÆµa tandem pedal-driven boat calledòòò½ÊÓÆµPedal Maniacs thatòòò½ÊÓÆµfinished in 39 hours and 25 minutes.
Walters set the time record for the tandem pedal drive division last year with a different teammate, clocking in at 38:21.
The fastest boat ever in MR340 history was a team of five who finished the race in 2018 in just over 33 hours.
Forshee said his biggest struggle was nutrition. He said he felt sick before stopping at the Glasgow checkpoint to rest.
"I think you just you gotta forget all the suffering, remember the good things and then think about ways you can improve and be better than you were," he said.
"I didn't make my goal this year beating last year's time, but it wasn't from lack of effort."
His son, Blaine, said the physical conditions, particularly fog, were significant challenges for many paddlers, especially at night.
"Once the moon went away, it was like paddling in the abyss," he said. "Following the line on my GPS was the only way I had any idea where to go."
Other paddlers helped them navigate the fog until the sun came up, they said. Both Forshees said they were grateful for the support of the MR340 community.
"The ground crews and the volunteers were absolutely amazing and really allow us to do this stuff," Brendan Forshee said. "Just being at the ramps, everybody's cheering you on."
Paddlers who finished the race were greeted Friday night at the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Museum in St. Charles. There, spectators and exhausted paddlers cheered in the final boat just around 8 p.m.
A finish line party celebrated the end of the race with an awards ceremony honoring the top three paddlers, food and live music.
Here are the results for the Columbia paddlers with their divisions and times:
Christina Ruiz (Dragonboat) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 46:34:57
Blaine Forshee (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 61:35:12
Shane Norell (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ DNF est 59:32:33
Jeff Pitts (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 58:50:48
Brian Frey (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ DNF est 47:06:02
Brendan Forshee (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 48:41
Rich Wolpert (Solo) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ DNF est 57:17:35
Josh Mongler (Solo) - DNF est 62:37:06
Christopher & Jared Coberly (Tandem) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 74:43:57
Erik Grossmann & Matt Jenne (Tandem) òòò½ÊÓÆµ“ 74:09:22
Alma & Bryan Hopkins (Tandem) - DNF est 47:50:30
Madelyn Ehler & Aaron Hentges (Tandem) - DNF