News

Basehor teams compete in Missouri River race

Billed as the world’s longest non-stop river race, the 19th annual Missouri American Water MR340 took place July 23-26 with three Basehor participants. The race began at historic Kaw Point in Kansas City, Kansas, and finished in St. Charles, Missouri. There were several checkpoints along the route as well as stops where volunteers were posted and safety boats were available, as well as food vendors.The event is a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization Missouri River Relief. As host of the event, it is the largest fundraiser of the year. Dedicated to connecting people with the Missouri River through powerful experiences, it also hosts river clean-ups, education programs and other recreation events.Basehor resident Cameron Maughmer and Tonganoxie resident Chad Howell participated in the MR340 last year but the race was canceled midway through day two due to unsafe river conditions that were caused by severe storms overnight. This year, they finished the race in 61st place overall, and fourth place in the tandem pedal drive division. A total of 411 boats started the race, and 322 boats completed the entire race within the required time. Their official time on the river was 55 hours, 47 minutes and 44 seconds. The team was happy to have finished the race as well as their overall time.“We had hoped to finish a little higher in a few less hours but neither of us had ever completed a race longer than when we got halfway through the MR340 last year, so we were in unchartered territory. We overcame several challenges as the race went on, overcoming every challenge that the river could throw our way. That is what made the completion of the race so satisfying for our first time ever, regardless of the time,” said Cameron.Maughmer and Howell have been friends for a dozen years. They worked together during their college years and have remained close friends ever since. The pair took training seriously and Chad began training by going to the gym on a consistent basis, losing weight and getting in overall good shape. Cameron began riding his bike four to five days per week to improve cardio and leg strength in addition to already putting time in at the gym and losing weight. Cameron is a graduate of Basehor-Linwood High School.The pair made stops at various ramps throughout the race for resupply of water, electrolytes and food. The only stop for sleep was for two hours in Glasgow, Missouri, before they finished the race without additional sleep.Chad said that it is nice to be friends with someone who is willing to do things like racing across the state of Missouri and it is an experience they will both cherish forever. While the river tested the team in ways they could have never planned for, they are rightfully proud of how they worked as a team to ultimately finish the race. They both reflect that they learned many things from this year’s race and they are looking forward to leveraging that knowledge to become better paddlers in future races.“Seeing and meeting all of the other people in the race is a fun time knowing we are all going through the same experience. I am looking forward to the next race, whenever that may be for us,” Chad said.

Read MoreBasehor teams compete in Missouri River race