Race for the Rivers – 8/24/2013

Danelle decided to race in this annual event. She took “Breakdown” our unreliable Hobie Adventure kayak. We met JoJo at the St. Charles takeout and loaded her boat, then headed the 20 some miles upstream to the Klondike ramp for the start of the short race.

There was quite a turnout for the 20 mile race with all sorts of paddlers showing up to give the river all they had. I was in charge of the kids while Danelle raced.

One interesting note is that they have required safety equipment for the race, but they have never checked in the past. This year, they validated that every racer had a glow stick and whistle attached to their PFD (Personal Flotation Device or life jacket). Danelle had to do some quick talking to find somebody with extras that she could use. It worked out ok, but come prepared if you plan to do the race in the future!

With the racers off, I figured I had more than two hours before Danelle would be finished with the race, most likely closer to three hours. So I took the kids to Klondike park to climb up and look at the river bluff. As an added bonus, I wondered if I would see any racers doing the 40 mile race that started an hour earlier. To my surprise, I did see the front runners of the 40 mile race!

 

I managed to take the kids to Subway to get some lunch and get down to the finish area before Danelle completed the race. She did great, coming in the front of the pack for her race! With a wave, she makes it look easy!

 

Happy finishers are talking after the race! We hung out for a few hours after the race taking in some of the events and talking with other racers. A perfect day to celebrate the river!

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Hogan Haake