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!