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Two rows of picnic tables were lined up Wednesday on the bank at Cooper’s Landing as dozens of paddlers in the MR340 pulled in for a rest stop.

At each table, people were cheering the boats that were about midway between Kansas City and St. Louis on the annual race down the Missouri River.

William Broadus, left, helps his wife Kristin Broadus, both from Slidell, Louisiana, launch her kayak, "Bayou Jeepsy,” back into the Missouri River on Tuesday at the Port of Waverly. Kristin Broadus has previously finished in the top 10 in the MR340 Women’s Solo Paddle Division. Broadus officially withdrew from the race on Wednesday morning. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Shouts erupted as Carrie Elliott got out of her kayak, and friends and family ran down the boat ramp to see her. She made it up the ramp and dropped to the ground.

“It’s slow and hot,” said Elliott, who is racing solo for the fourth year. “It’s been quiet today.”

Racers and ground crews gather at the boat ramp on Wednesday at Cooper’s Landing. The MR340 will officially end on Friday, but many racers are expected to finish on Thursday. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

The MR340 is the world’s longest nonstop river race, and 650 racers are competing this year in 465 boats.

Solo racers left Kaw Point near Kansas City at 7 a.m. Tuesday, and the teams left at 8. To be an official finisher, they have to hit the finish line in St. Charles by 9 p.m. Friday.

David Amelung of Arnold gets a quick massage from a member of his ground crew on Tuesday at the Port of Waverly. “This is my fifth time racing in it, it is a life changing event, but this probably my last one,” Amelung said. “It is a sense of accomplishment; nobody climbs Mount Everest because it feels good. This is the Mount Everest of Missouri.” J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Racers compete in kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, paddleboards, rowboats and dragon boats. The MR340 runs around the clock, and five checkpoints along the route are mandatory stops, each with a cutoff time that must be hit to escape disqualification.

The stop at Cooper’s Landing isn’t mandatory, but paddlers and pedalers often use it to get resupplied and connect with their support teams. It comes just 26 miles before the Jefferson City checkpoint and 141 miles before the finish line in St. Charles.

Paul Colletti reunites with his daughters, Eve Colletti, 11, left, and Remy Colletti, 7, right, during a stop on the MR340 on Wednesday at Franklin Island Conservation Area in Howard County. “It is fun, but it’s really a test of yourself and an unbelievable community,” said Paul Colletti, who is competing for the first time. “From the people on the water to all the volunteers operating the race at all the ramps and the race organizers, it’s really a testament to the community and a test of yourself.” Hannah Henderson/Missourian▲

Because there is an 85-hour deadline, a boat setting the pace called “The Reaper” trails behind. If racers are not past Cooper’s Landing by noon Thursday, The Reaper will catch up with them, and they will be disqualified.

The final checkpoint in St. Charles opened at 5 p.m. Wednesday and closes at 9 p.m. Friday.

From left, racers Cooper McCue, Michael Hart and J.D. Richardson row their canoe toward the boat ramp during a stop on Wednesday at Franklin Island Conservation Area in Howard County. McCue is in his first year competing. “It’s a lot of monotony, just paddling and looking at the water, but just talking to the guys in the boat and everything and focusing on getting there has been the greatest thing,” said McCue, who is from Columbia and is in his first year competing. Each competitor and team has a ground crew that assists them during stops with food, water and encouragement. Hannah Henderson/Missourian▲

April Hobbs is competing this year in the women’s tandem paddle division. She and her teammate, Alycia Tarsi, had never canoed competitively before deciding to register this year. They met through a running group in St. Charles and made plans in January to enter the race.

Being on the water feels like being in a painting, Hobbs said.

“It is a big river. It’s intimidating,” she said. “It’s really kind of surreal if it’s not something that you’re used to doing all the time.”

Spectators mingle around the Cooper’s Landing store during the MR340 race on Wednesday in Columbia. Ground crews of family or friends follow along the Missouri River to support and resupply racers when they stop at boat ramps to rest. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Each competitor has a ground crew who assists them during the stops with food, water and encouragement. Safety boats are also scattered along the river to ensure that no one is in trouble.

Mark McGee watches racers in the MR340 from the bank of the Missouri River on Wednesday at Cooper’s Landing. “Being a water enthusiast, I love people enjoying the river,” McGee said. “It brings a lot of good people together, and it is a good day to be out.” J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Barb and Stuart Elmore have been volunteering for the MR340 for five years.

“All the go-getters just kept going this morning,” Barb Elmore said. “Now people are starting to come up and get out, and, you know, they’re hurting.”

At the Glasgow stop earlier Wednesday, Beth Burkhart was parking a pedal-driven kayak. Only four pedal boats entered the 2021 race, she said, and the division was so small that men and women competed against each other for a first-place title.

Trent Platz, left, from Kansas City, and Dustin Murphy, from Hartsburg, paddle their boat “Gadsdens Revenge” past Cooper’s Landing during the MR340 on Wednesday. Platz and Murphy are on pace to finish the race on Thursday evening. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Burkhart wanted more women to get involved in pedal drive, so she offered to help them buy boats and pay for registration. Once a pedal boat division was finally secured for women, she said it took off.

Her fellow racers have become tight-knit and refer to themselves as the “Pedal Pack.”

“We have our own identity and T-shirts and banners,” she said.

Tom Ryan’s kayak “Papa Tom” displays the names of his ground crew and training support team on Wednesday at Cooper’s Landing. “There’s a saying, ‘do hard things,’ so that’s what we are doing,” Ryan said. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲

Burkhart works as a life flight paramedic for MU Health Care, and has been racing in the MR340 for seven years. She said she never gets tired of the peace on the river.

“When the fog’s lifting and the sun’s coming up and everything’s just gorgeous and quiet,” she said, “it’s the opposite of my job.”

William Leonard, left, and Jared Zillig, both of Columbia, head back onto the Missouri River after their stop on Wednesday at Cooper’s Landing. Both Leonard and Zillig are participating in their first MR340 race. The MR340 is the world’s longest nonstop river race, and 650 racers are competing this year. J Thomas Taylor/Missourian▲
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