Gravette man plans unique fundraiser for Library

Photo by Cristina Coeme Michael Williams, of Gravette, and Henri Coeme, of Neosho, Mo., have formed a team and entered the Missouri 340, the world’s longest river race. They are pictured here in their kayak at Chetopa, Kan., just before starting a recent 39.68 mile training run on the Neosho River. They will be making several more training runs before the actual race July 28 - 31.
Photo by Cristina Coeme Michael Williams, of Gravette, and Henri Coeme, of Neosho, Mo., have formed a team and entered the Missouri 340, the world’s longest river race. They are pictured here in their kayak at Chetopa, Kan., just before starting a recent 39.68 mile training run on the Neosho River. They will be making several more training runs before the actual race July 28 - 31.

GRAVETTE -- Gravette Public Library will hold its third annual gala in September and the library commission will host its popular Renaissance Fair later this fall. A Gravette man, however, has teamed up with a buddy to add another unique event to these fundraising activities.

Michael Williams, of Gravette, and his pal Henri Coeme, of Neosho, Mo., plan to participate in the world's longest nonstop river race this summer and use it as a fundraiser for the library.

The longest river race in the world, 340 miles on the Missouri River, runs from Kansas City, Kan., to St. Charles, Mo. It will be held July 28 through 31. Participants are allowed 88 hours to finish the race. The local team has already signed up and their kayak is entered as boat No. 6244. They call their team the River Zombyes and admit they may well feel like zombies by the time the race is over.

Williams and his family moved to Gravette from Anderson, Mo., four years ago but chose to continue visiting a doctor in Missouri. Michael learned about the Missouri 340 endurance race from an article he read in the "Missouri Conservationist" magazine in the doctor's waiting room. He was intrigued and decided right away that it was something he'd like to do.

Williams bought his kayak, a 14-foot Necky Manitou II model, in 2014 with money from his income tax refund. Then his wife Sonya got sick. She suffered with an intestinal ulcer which ruptured and she was in the hospital, seriously ill, for almost a month. Because of the medical expenses they incurred, Michael decided to sell the kayak. He advertised it and sold it online. Coeme was the buyer and Michael said he hated to let it go because he had hoped to enter the Missouri 340. Coeme, who had run marathons and half-marathons, asked Michael to bring information about the race when he delivered the kayak to him in Neosho.

When Coeme learned of Williams' desire, he offered to let him use the kayak and go ahead and enter the race. Williams later suggested they enter as a team. Entries are accepted from men's and women's tandem teams, mixed tandem teams, teams of three or four in a boat and voyageur teams, which consist of from five to 10 in a boat. One race category includes pedal drive boats, which racers paddle with their feet rather than their arms.

The Missouri 340 is definitely an endurance race. There is good reason why the promotional material states, "This ain't no mama's boy float trip" and explains that competitors start in Kansas City and finish, "some of them, anyway," in St. Charles. Williams explains that usually about a third of the entrants quit the first day. "This race promises to test your mettle from the first stroke in Kansas City to the last gasp in St. Charles," says an online article. "Just entering it will impress your friends. Finishing it will astound them."

The race begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 28. Entrants must travel 50 miles to the first checkpoint and have until 5 p.m. to arrive. There are a total of nine checkpoints along the route, and each checkpoint must be reached within a certain time. Failure to arrive at any one by the designated time results in disqualification. Williams says a good racer will travel as far as he can the first day to get ahead of the clock.

Barge and tugboat travel on the river is restricted during the race. Racers can run at night if they choose. Each boat must be equipped with Coast Guard approved lights on the bow and stern. Other required equipment includes life vests for each paddler, a Missouri River map, an extra paddle, towing ropes, a first-aid kit and drinking water to last 12 hours. Race organizers also recommend taking along a tent or shelter, a bedroll, good footwear, a hat, sunblock, sunglasses and a GPS.

Support teams travel with the racing crews and will meet with them along the route to resupply them with food and other necessities. Michael's wife Sonya will be on his support crew, and a nurse from Highlands Rehab is also considering making the trip. Although the Missouri River is notably scenic, with beautiful vistas and watchable wildlife along some stretches, kayakers intent on winning the race will have little time to enjoy it.

Realizing a racer needs to be very fit, Williams has been trying to get in better shape. He says he's been eating healthier and he has lost 30 pounds, down to his current 170-pound weight. He hopes to lose another 10 pounds before race day. He and Coeme have set a goal of finishing the race in 60 hours or less, but he says their overall goal is just to finish in the time allotted (88 hours). The record for a men's tandem team, set in 2010, is 36.48 hours.

Williams and Coeme did their first training run Aug. 30, 2014, a distance of eight miles. Both thoroughly enjoyed the experience and Coeme said after that run, "There is no way I can back out now." The team has been using the Neosho River in Oklahoma to practice even though, unlike the Missouri, the current there runs only about three to five miles an hour. A recent training run of 39.68 miles took them from Chetopa, Kan., to Twin Bridges State Park at Wyandotte, Okla. They made it in 9 hours, 20 minutes. They've been averaging 4 to 4 1/2 miles an hour on runs of up to nine hours. They plan another practice run soon from Twin Bridges down to the dam at Disney, Okla., and will train with their supplies in the kayak a month or two before the race.

Michael works as a transport driver and CNA at Highlands Health and Rehab in Bella Vista. His teammate Henri is a salesman, selling T-shirt printing equipment in Pittsburg, Kan. Henri was formerly a business teacher at Pittsburg State University. Michael will schedule vacation time to make the race in July.

Michael says he believes in giving back to his community. He and Sonya read books and also use the computers at the Gravette Public Library. Their son Ryan Pease, a 2013 Gravette High School graduate, is also a library user. Michael approached library manager Kim Schneider about using the Missouri 340 race as a means to raise money for the library's building fund and, of course, she readily agreed. The library commission endorsed the event at its January meeting.

Persons wishing to support the River Zombyes in their race this summer and contribute to the Gravette Public Library may pledge a set amount or pledge a certain amount per mile. (Michael suggests 10 cents or 20 cents a mile). All contributions are tax deductible, and checks should be made to the Gravette Community Foundation. Supporters may contact the library or contact Michael or Sonya Williams by calling 787-0861, or by email at [email protected]. Coeme may be contacted at 417-622-8912.

General News on 02/04/2015