Gabe Craighead likes to challenge himself.
So it was no surprise that when Craighead heard about the Missouri River 340 endurance race eight years ago, he made a mental note that he'd like to try that someday.
Craighead achieved that goal on Aug. 15, finishing the paddling endurance race down the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Charles in 76 hours.
"We only got about nine hours of sleep ... and were putting in 100-120 miles a day," Craighead said of the 340-mile trek often referred to as the MR340 made with training partner Jay Polchow. "We weren't moving real fast, but we were consistent."
He said most of the stops were to sleep or make contact with their ground crew to stock up on supplies.
According to the event website, race participants are allowed 88 hours to complete the course, with nine checkpoints along the way where paddlers are required to sign in and out, and cutoff times for check-in at each checkpoint. Failure to miss two consecutive deadlines leads to disqualification. Racers can compete as individuals or in tandem teams of two.
"To finish this race in 88 hours is a huge accomplishment. Only two-thirds of the teams were able to do that last year," the website states.
Obstacles and hazards include motorboats, towboats pushing barges, wing dikes, buoys and bridge pilings. This year's race was postponed from July to August due to high water and increased debris in the river from flooding, making conditions too dangerous.
Craighead said he acclimated himself to dealing with some of those challenges during his training over the spring and summer, which consisted of a number of boating runs along different stretches of the course with Polchow.
"I probably starting practicing about March, just getting used to the boat and the paddling," he said, noting he also, "spent a lot of time on Youtube" watching videos on technique from experienced rowers, which he said "made a big difference."
Craighead said the most challenging part of the race was paddling at night when it was harder to see obstacles or even much beyond your immediate surroundings.
"It was a little spooky at night when you have fog and shadows from the trees and it looks like you're going into a big hole," he said. "Especially in the bluffs, you wouldn't see the moon until 10:30 or 11 p.m."
Craighead said the first stretch through Kansas City was the trickiest, navigating under numerous bridges and the associated obstacles.
Keeping on track was another obstacle.
"The biggest part is you're challenging yourself to keep on going. You have a lot of time out there to think," Craighead said. "The monotony of it sometimes can get boring."
A former collegiate athlete - the Fulton native played baseball at the University of Missouri - and highland games competitor, Craighead said the Missouri River 340 provided that same intensity of competition and skill.
"I always have to have something to be competitive in. I just wanted to have some type of adventure," he said."Some people think you're just floating, but it's a lot different. You're not just using the current to take you there."
Craighead said the best part was talking to his fellow racers when they were around - some of them disembodied voices in the dark - and accomplishing his primary goal for his first attempt at the MR340: to finish.
"People are really friendly. If they're not hard-core racers, they're there for the same reasons you are," he said. "It's neat to see all these people pushing themselves - it's a big accomplishment just to start it."
Craighead said he already is making plans to compete again next year - this time with his two brothers-in-law who were supposed to race this year but were unable to after the change in dates.
"It was neat," he said. "I enjoyed it, it was a good time."
Katherine Cummins can be reached at (573) 826-2418 or [email protected].