Two Paddles Canoe Races

I've registered for the MN48 race on the good ol' Mississippi. Beav's epic trip to Alaska certainly inspired me years ago to start pushing farther and improving my paddle stroke and gear. I've loved following the border route challenge folks on this site and that's on my shortlist for a challenge trip in 2025.

Last year, I opted for a trip to Woodland Caribou while this race was going on, but I'm going to register for the MN48 this year, in my trusty Magic. There are no portages on this stretch, and fist place finishers tend to come in around 4-5 hours. I don't expect to place, just want to compete and get a feel for races like this.

While I've raced the daylight more times than I care to say, I've not done a proper canoe canoe race before. My cousin has done the MR340 a couple of times and has shown me his hydration/nutrition setup. I'm looking forward to training, poring over Mississippi river maps/images, and planning an efficient and safe route.

I'm curious if anyone has any tips and/or experiences they can share for a first-time race participant.

/The minnesota canoe association has a lot of racers, some who have done this race. They have a racers forum and I am sure people will help.

https://mca.clubexpress.com/

Good for you! I did the 2 Paddles race last year, the 150 miler. Did the MR 340 the year before, and of course would'nt miss the Border Challenge. ( completed 6) As for advice, make sure your canoe seat is well padded. Most people have a layer or 2 of foam with cut-outs for sit bones. As for hydration and nutrition, everyone is different. Make sure you train with what you're going to use. For your shorter race you could probably get by with a gallon jug of Tailwind. I like the berry flavor. Maybe have a small bottle of Ensure with you. We had very low water levels on the Mississippi last year. I was scraping bottom in a solo canoe in the middle of the river. I was using the pro paddler ap., which was great for night paddling. You will find paddlers of various types in these races, but all are eager to help if you have problems. A great community!

zehyani: "/The minnesota canoe association has a lot of racers, some who have done this race. They have a racers forum and I am sure people will help.


https://mca.clubexpress.com/"

Just joined as a member. Thanks Z. Looking forward to those Rookie nights in April.

Voyager: "Good for you! I did the 2 Paddles race last year, the 150 miler. Did the MR 340 the year before, and of course would'nt miss the Border Challenge. ( completed 6) As for advice, make sure your canoe seat is well padded. Most people have a layer or 2 of foam with cut-outs for sit bones. As for hydration and nutrition, everyone is different. Make sure you train with what you're going to use. For your shorter race you could probably get by with a gallon jug of Tailwind. I like the berry flavor. Maybe have a small bottle of Ensure with you. We had very low water levels on the Mississippi last year. I was scraping bottom in a solo canoe in the middle of the river. I was using the pro paddler ap., which was great for night paddling. You will find paddlers of various types in these races, but all are eager to help if you have problems. A great community!"

Thank you for the tips Voyager. I'll look into the Mississippi ProPaddler App.

Som interest in doing this race I sent you an email with my cell phone number

I leaped into racing last year (well the year before if you count the Moose Lake Border Route Challenge. Last spring I did the Snake River Canoe race (15 mile race...super fun, family friendly event) as a short warm up. Then I did the MR150 and had a blast. I think you will really enjoy the 48 miler.

Like Voyager said, test out your hydration and nutrition choices before hand. The Tailwind Endurance mixes sit well with most people. Order a sample pack to see what flavor you like the best.

I'm not a fan of seat padding and do all my races without. I have a lot of natural butt padding (unlike Voyager) so that makes a difference. Padding prevents me from easily making slight changes in my seat position which I enjoy doing. So try out what works for you.

For ease in hydration, I like having camelback type bladders mounted behind my seat and a longer than normal hose hooked to my PFD so I can just drink when I need without taking my hands off my paddle.

2 Paddles runs a fun race weekend. Be sure to hang around for the party/food afterwards. Great time to socialize and just enjoy the paddling community. I'll be doing the 150 again this year. Feel free to reach out with any other questions that arise.

I'm glad you're inspired to Paddle Harder!

So the MR48 is an endurance paddling race...like a sprint only long distance. You'll have to pace yourself and make sure you're eating to keep up energy. It's common not to eat enough at first because "it's a race" and you don't want to do anything but paddle hard to keep up with the others. You have 9 hours or less to make the finish so what you eat isn't that important, in my opinion. Pizza, cheeseburgers, candybars, or fancy energy powder mixes. Depends on your stomach and how it handles stuff while you're heart is apounding. Like others have said, don't try something untested in the race or you may get an upset stomach. Of course, baking pizza in your boat will kill alot more time than slamming down energy powder :)

I think the most important thing is to plan to finish. No matter what. Plan to finish is always my goal. READ this over and over. Everything you do then before and during the race is done to achieve this one simple goal. Finish.

That's great that you're planning on doing the Border Route Challenge in 2025! The Mississippi Races are great training for it but note that it is different in that the Border Route Challenges are way more of an ADVENTURE vs a RACE. But being able to paddle hard over long distances is a part of doing well in an ADVENTURE.

I'm going to look into this for the 50 mile range. I just need someone in the bow of my solo yelling, "stroke...stroke...". :)