THEY MADE IT!

Vince and Marianne came in a to a cheering crowd of family and friends at 11:33 AM. They were overjoyed to have completed one of the worlds top 100 adventures, and boy was it an adventure! Vince's friends from work came and even his doctor and good friend, Glen. They will be able to get showers, food and cool down before the awards ceremony held tonight at 7 PM. Congrats Vince and Marianne you did it with a smile on your face and more determination then ever. I know I speak for everyone when I say you inspired us and that we are so proud of you! You did it...you completed the paddle!

Update!

Just got off the phone with my dad! They are averaging 7 mph! They are excited to finish. It looks like they will be in around 11:15-11:25 AM. GO TEAM VINCE AND MARIANNE!

Better Address!

If you are planning on coming to St. Charles here is a much better address make sure to follow the detour signs there is construction!

1010 S Main St
St Charles Missouri 63301
United States

Last stop before the end!!! Klondike

Vince and Marianne pushed thought the night and helped some other paddlers along the way and made it into Klondike at 2:27 AM. They were exhausted and were asleep before we could blink. They woke up this morning and had a nice breakfast and were back on the river by 7:21 AM next stop ST. CHARLES!!!! Anyone is more than welcome to come see them come in. If you are planning on doing this make sure you are at Frontier Park no later then 11 AM. We will arrive there probably around 9 AM so if you want to come earlier just look for us! We are so excited and Vince and Marianne are ready to finish!!! Address for Frontier Park 1260 S Main St
St Charles MO 63301
United States
(it is right by Ameristar Casino)

Anniversary Stop

Vince and Marianne arrived into Herman at 5:27 PM. They were looking good but exhausted from the long stretch they just conquered. So story time.. Their boat name Anniversary Edition is named that because when they were going to do the MR 340 last year it was the year of their 25th wedding anniversary. The race got pushed back because the river was to high and they were unable to make the the rescheduled date. So this year they kept their same name. So as we were walking around the cute little town of Herman we stumbled upon a antique shop and Carol had a great idea. We got cheep wine glasses, a candle, and a vase and decided to have a anniversary "cruse" dinner! (pictured below) The other joke was that for their anniversary Vince was taking my mom on a "cruse" on the Missouri River...so as ground crew we thought we would make it as authentic as possible! They enjoyed that and both got back massages :) They took a longer break because they have another long leg before they make it to Klondike for the night. They will make a stop in Washington around 11:30 PM and then continue on. They left Herman at 7:11 PM and we packed up the car!

While Were Waitin'

Since we have a lot of time before Vince and Marianne come into Herman, we thought we would share some pictures that we haven't had time to share. Enjoy :)

 The Morning of the race!

 Muddy Feet!

 Window paint on the car!

 Leaving Miami sunrise

 Soap Everywhere!!!

 Takin' a snooze

 Swimmin' to cool down

 Sunset at Cooper's Landing

 Coming in at Jefferson City!

 Vince's cousin Steve- Messing around with GPS

 Leaving Jefferson City

 Morning of the start of the race in Kansas City

Let the race begin!

 Picture at Jefferson City!

Still Havin' Fun!!

Jefferson City Check Point #6

Vince and Marianne left Cooper's Landing this morning at 6:05 AM. The weather is overcast and in the upper 80's which is a much need break from the heat! They kept an average speed of 6.5 mph and made it into Jefferson City at 9:55 AM this morning! They were feeling great and very thankful for the overcast weather! Steve, Vince's cousin, brought them sandwiches for lunch from his deli so they are excited to have those! Just after they pulled out at 10:25 AM it started drizzling. It is just a light sprinkle and shouldn't effect them at all. As for the ground crew we are headed to The Old Brick House Deli for lunch and to pass the time until we have to spring into action again!

End of day #2 -Cooper's Landing

Vince and Marianne made it into Cooper's Landing at 10:24 PM this evening! They got some food and got a nice shower! They are as happy as clams! They are super tired and so excited to call it a night. They will be up early again tomorrow for day #3 on the river :)
Also about the posting from before when I say they are 23rd in the race we figured out that that was out of the boats with spot trackers. Not every boat on the river has a spot tracker so out of the boats that do, they are 23rd. I just wanted to clarify that!

Official Standings Update!

Clarissa, Carol and I are all at Cooper's Landing listening to a local band waiting for Vince and Marianne to come in. Vince's cousin Steve, who owns The Old Brick House Deli, drove up with his wife Lisa and brought us a wonderful meal of stuffed green peppers and homemade apple pie! It was delicious! No one had a appetite all day because it was so hot out so this was the first meal that we have had all day! Vince and Marianne have a plate waiting for them when they come in. So enough with that and on to the important stuff! Vince and Marianne are in 23rd place in the entire race and are in 5th in their division! We are super excited and pumped to tell them where they stand! We estimated that 357 boats started the race and we know 94 boats have dropped out which leaves us with a guess that 263 boats are still in the race. The boat in first place is a 6 man boat traveling an average of 9 mph and was in Klondike (the last check point before the end  of the race) at 6:15 and although the website isn't updated yet we can only assume that they are done with the race! We will have more updates when Vince and Marianne come in!

Franklin Island!

Vince and Marianne made it to Franklin Island at 5:57PM. They were really feeling the heat and had to take a longer break. They stretched and cooled off in the shade after a quick swim. They told us about a baby bald eagle that that spotted on the river! Anyone who knows Marianne knows that you always have time to stop and take a picture of an eagle! Once I get my hands on that picture I will be sure to share it. They left Franklin at 6:37 PM.

Better Way To Track!

We have found that the link that I posted earlier for the spot tracker isn't working that well. We have tried numerous times to try to find Vince and Marianne and have been unsuccessful. Thanks to my wonderful Uncle Ned we found a much better cite that works great! Just click this link http://trackleaders.com/missouri340i.php?name=1986 and it will take you right to Vince and Marianne's boat tracker. It is really neat to see how fast they are going and right where they are on the river! Hope you all enjoy this!

We were also told that Vince and Marianne were on the Kansas City News at 6 PM yesterday but we haven't been able to find that video or the link for it online. If anyone can find it let us know!

Checkpoint #4 - Glasgow

Vince and Marianne made it into Glasgow at 12:03 PM. They were feeling good but really feeling the heat. The humidity is getting to them but with the help of cold rags and lots of water they are still going strong! They rested a bit and we got them lunch to go and they went back out on the river at 12:51 PM. This next leg will be one of the hardest of the race seeing that it is very long and hot but we have total faith that Vince and Marianne can totally rock it :)

Day two!

Vice and Marianne got up and had a pancake breakfast made by the boy scouts this morning! Then they packed up and were on the river this morning at 6:30 AM...at least all of this was told to me by Carol, I was sleeping! We packed up replenished our ice and now we are on our way to Glasgow!

Arrived in Miami!

Vince and Marianne arrived in Miami at 12:15 AM and are ready to call it a day. They will rest for a few hours and be back on the water before you know it :)

Waiting at Miami- End of Day 1

Today was a great day! It is the end of day one only 2 and a half more days till Vince and Marianne cross the finish line and complete the race! Today was a smooth day as ground crew we navigated on land and made our way just fine stopping at local stores for ice to keep food cold and to replenish water at every chance we had. We met friends along the way and got to know the different racers. Vince lost his mouth piece to his water at the beginning of the race thankfully we have become masters at improvising and Vince is dealing wonderfully! Right now Carol and I are sitting by the water waiting for Vince and Marianne to come into Miami Missouri the final stop of the day. They should come in around 12 AM so until then we will try to stay awake! We have a dead car battery at the moment but are confident that one of our new friends will provide a helping hand. Vince and Marianne want to get back on the river fairly early in the morning the stats might not all be up to date but by the looks of them now it seems like Vice and Marianne are in 4th place in the mixed tandem division!! They are super excited and hope to really cover some ground tomorrow and catch up to the 3rd place team!
-Thought I would share a picture of the sunset tonight!

Checkpoint #2 Waverly

Vince and Marianne flew into Waverly at 7:11 PM this evening! They were looking great and feeling good! The completed the hottest part of the day and were thankful that the sun was going down. They cooled off, ate some dinner, and then in no time they packed up and were ready to head back down the river! They left at 7:50 PM!

First Check Point!

Vince and Marianne arrived in Lexington at 3:19 PM! They were very hot but in great spirits. Vince took a dip in the water and Marianne enjoyed some cold apple sauce! After cooling down and spending time in the shade they were ready to head back out and continue the journey! They left at 3:53 PM

Fort Osage!

Vince and Marianne stopped for the first time since the start of the race! They came into Fort Osage for a quick stop at 12:15 PM and ahead of schedule! They said they were feeling good and left at 12:27 PM the next stop is Lexington and they are predicted to arrive at 3:38 PM!

There off!!!

Right at 8 AM the canon blew and Vince and Marianne took off paddling and started one of the greatest adventures of their life!

On the River

They got on the river with enough time to spare! It was pretty hectic with the other 357 racers making the journey! Now all we have to do is sit tight and wait for the canon to go off at 8.

On the News!!!

Look who got picked to get interviewed for the Kansas City News!! We will let you know what channel and how to watch later!!

Today's the day!!

We are watching the sun rise on the water as we prep the canoe for launching! The single racers take of at 7 AM (cst) and the rest of the racers (tandem, group, and voyager) take of at 8 AM (cst) beautiful morning in Kansas City!!!

Strength Bracelets

Hannah Calandro, niece of Vince and Marianne made two strength bracelets for them to wear while on the race! Each of the colors have different meanings and are going to serve as a reminder to Vince and Marianne that they can preserver when times get hard and feel like giving up. They will wear these  bracelets for the duration of the race and always remember how strong they are and how sweet it was of Hannah to make the bracelets for them!  

          P.S. The blue shirt that Marianne is wearing is the MR 340 logo and this years T-shirt!

Meet the Crew!!!

Meet our wonderful crew!

 From left to right we have Carol Snow(Vince's sister and member of ground crew), Claire Burkemper (youngest daughter of Vince and Marianne and member of ground crew), Clarissa Snow (Daughter to Carol and niece to Vince and Marianne and member of ground crew), Marianne Burkemper (paddler) , and Vince Burkemper (paddler).

Once we arrived in Kansas City and checked in for the race, we made our way down to Kaw Point, where Vince and Marianne will start the race tomorrow at 8 AM (cst), we scoped out the area and talked to others who are planning to take the same adventure down the river!

Later that evening we attended the safety meeting where we were told that the MR 340 was named by National Geographic as "One of the top 100 adventures in the world." We are more than excited to start this adventure! Keep the prayers coming as we get a good nights rest and wake up before the sun rises to embark on this exciting adventure ahead!

Welcome to Kansas City!

We have safely arrived in Kansas City and are going to check in! Going to be meeting up with the rest of our ground crew!

When the race begins on Tuesday you can go to http://www.rivermiles.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1343448573 and by clicking on the first link you can follow the official standings and see what place all of the racers are in. By clicking on the second link, Kattack Spot Tacker Feed, you will be able to watch Vince and Marianne as they make their way down the Missouri River!

Pre-Race

Tomorrow we take off for Kansas City! Bags are packed and anticipation is in the air! Look out for boat 1986 on Tues. More updates to come!