Gravette man conquers longest river race

Photo by Susan Holland Michael Williams, of Gravette, displays the medal he won for completing the Missouri 340, the world’s longest river race, in the allotted time. Michael and his teammate, Henri Coeme of Neosho, Mo., completed the four-day race in 77 hours, 37 minutes. They competed under the name the River Zombyes and raised money for the Gravette Public Library.
Photo by Susan Holland Michael Williams, of Gravette, displays the medal he won for completing the Missouri 340, the world’s longest river race, in the allotted time. Michael and his teammate, Henri Coeme of Neosho, Mo., completed the four-day race in 77 hours, 37 minutes. They competed under the name the River Zombyes and raised money for the Gravette Public Library.

— "He came. He saw. He conquered." That expression seems to fit a local man, Gravette kayaker Michael Williams. Williams and his partner, Henri Coeme, of Neosho, Mo., knew they had taken on quite a big project when they decided to enter the Missouri 340, the world's longest nonstop river race, held July 28-31, but they have come through and met the challenge.

Williams and Coeme formed a team and entered the men's tandem division of the race early this spring. They called their team the River Zombyes and, being an avid reader and wanting to give back to his community, Williams decided to use the race as a fundraiser for the Gravette Public Library. He took pledges from those willing to make donations for each mile the team traveled. They came through for the library, too, raising several hundred dollars for the library's building fund.

The Missouri 340 was run on the Missouri River, all the way across the state from Kansas City, Kan., on the west, to St. Charles, Mo., on the east. The allotted time for participants was 88 hours. The River Zombyes team, entered as boat No. 6244, completed the race in 77 hours, 37 minutes. That was over their goal of 60 hours, but they were happy just to finish within the allotted time. They finished 55th in the men's tandem division, out of 187 participants.

The winning entry in the men's tandem division completed the race in 34 hours, 34 minutes. Williams said the winning team was using a spot tracker, which allowed them to float past the nine checkpoints and submit information electronically rather than pulling in to the riverbank and submitting their reports. The winners set a new record. The previous record of 36 hours, 48 minutes, was set in 2010.

The River Zombyes traveled 105 miles the first day, despite temperatures over 100 degrees that day. They left Kaw Point in Kansas City at 8 a.m. Tuesday and reached their campsite at Miami, Mo., about 11:30 that night. Their ground crew had the tents already up and sleeping bags ready and Williams said they were eager to crawl in. A thunderstorm blew up about the time of their arrival and several boaters had to take shelter under their overturned canoes and kayaks when it began to rain.

Williams and Coeme were up at 5 a.m. on Wednesday and on the river between 6 and 6:30. The weather was better, with the temperature only reaching 89 degrees, but there was lots of humidity. They traveled 93 miles the second day and arrived at their campsite at Cooper's Landing about 9:30. They were delighted to discover there were showers at this campground. They had not taken showers for two days and found this very refreshing. The signs advertised that camping cost $10 and showers were $3, but the owner of the campground waived the fees when he learned they were race participants.

Finally, on Thursday, the weather was perfect, Williams said, with the high temperature at 87 degrees and a little wind. The team traveled 88 miles on day three and reached its campsite at New Haven, Mo., about 8:45 p.m., with only a little daylight left. New Haven is a town "smaller than Lanagan, Mo.," Williams said. From there they had to travel only 53 miles on the final day, completing the race about 1:30 p.m.

"The high was to be 90 degrees on Friday, but we finished before it got too hot," Williams said.

The River Zombyes were pleased with their performance in the race. Because of the high temperatures, one woman passed out and exited the race the first day. Another, battling sickness, dropped out on Wednesday. Other obstacles they faced included the three big barges which passed, causing large waves which made the trip more difficult. The largest created 2½ to 3 foot waves which disturbed the water for 15 to 20 minutes. The ground crew had some difficulty locating a few of the checkpoints as some were located in isolated rural areas at the end of winding country roads.

"It was tough, but we did it," Williams said. "I've never pushed myself that hard before." Their longest training run was only 40 miles. He admitted he was hurting when the race ended, "but I was on such a high when they asked me, I said, 'Nothing hurts!'" However, on the way home later that night, he said, "Everything hurts!"

Williams had high praise for his ground crew, which consisted of his wife Sonya, Coeme's wife Cristina and his best friends Dan and Darin of Maysville.

"We couldn't have done it without them," he said.

Ground crew members met them at each checkpoint with bottled water, Gatorade and snacks. The racers drank lots of water and ate fruit cups to keep themselves hydrated.

Williams says he's already set a goal to enter the race next year, but he plans to make a solo run then. He has a 12 foot Dagger blackwater kayak already halfway paid for at OMTC in Avoca.

The River Zombyes each received a medal for completing the race in the allotted time but, perhaps, a greater reward was just the satisfaction of finishing the race. And they're happy they were able to add to the library's building fund. In addition to the many individual pledges, the Cornerstone Bank at Southwest City, Mo., gave $250 to the fundraiser and the Gravette Lions Club contributed $100. The team also sold souvenir T-shirts from the race, with $5 from each shirt going to the library.

Donors may still contribute to the Missouri 340 fundraiser by contacting the library or by contacting Williams at 787-0861 or [email protected]. All contributions are tax deductible and checks should be made to the Gravette Community Foundation.

Community on 08/12/2015