Hey Homies! Thank you so much for your patience these past few days as we've been adjusting to being back in Dallas from our race. The
KAW100 was quite an adventure to say the least!
Last Wednesday Tim and I packed up the car and drove to Wichita to spend the evening with my oldest sister,
Jen, and her family. Breaking up our 9 hour drive was such a blessing, especially since we got to spend time at the pool.
Tim tried to teach my nephew
Jack how to hold his breath under water. This was as close as he got.
Remember when I told you that Mr. Loerke likes to perform
tricks before leaving the pool? Well, I wasn't kidding. Reason #327 why you can never take the boy out of the man.
The next morning we drove to Lawrence to meet up with my Papa and youngest brother Campbell. Pretty sure we filled up the Exploder 7 times on this trip.
For lunch we decided to stop at
Yello Sub. I had been craving their creamy turkey for a month!
Afterwards we drove the race route in reverse to Manhattan so we could be familiar with all of the checkpoints. This is the Topeka Coffer Dam.
My Papa showed me how to successfully portage the dam to avoid all possibilities of paddling too close to the power plant.
After checking out the boat ramps in Wamego, Maple Hill, Topeka, and Lecompton we decided to stop at
Kreem Kup for some shakes.
Have you ever eaten here before? Holy 50's AWESOMENESS, Batman.
Once in Manhattan we decided it was time to pimp the Exploder with some shoe polish. After all,
Branch Burress McKeaigg is kind of a big deal.
After attending our race safety meeting on Friday we unloaded the boat at the starting ramp.
My dad and Tim went over our check list. I couldn't have asked for a better ground crew!
They set up my bow lights.
And rigged my
GoPro's,
GPS, and prepared my food / water.
While waiting at the start we got to meet Tim's 5th cousins who paddled 61mi of the
KAW100 in their homemade wooden pirough. Talk about a tough group of men!
I also got the chance to meet my paddling hero
Kaity Pfefferkorn. She paddled with Di McHenry and ended up coming in first for women's tandem. So proud of you, Little!
Then guess who showed up?! TEAM McKEAIGG!
Everyone was so excited to meet and hold
Branch. Seeing him made everything about the last 6 months seem worth it.
Eventually it was time to get in the water and wait for the start.
I knew when I left the ramp that even if I didn't finish I had already won.
So much about the last six months has been a growing experience filled with unexpected turns and obstacles. Seeing my friends and family at the start was something I'll always remember.
Finally, they blew the canon and we were off!
I felt strong and was determined to make it to Wamego before dark.
Pictured here is Karen Exon, age 58, who ended up placing first in women's solo. Talk about a machine.
The first 20 miles were filled with sunshine and lots of friendly bantering back and forth between paddlers.
I sipped water every 5-10 minutes and felt surprisingly cool in the 102° heat.
I also drank a mixture of
Spiz every 3-4 hours which was packed with 1,400 calories to keep me going. When you paddle you burn about 625 calories per hour, so it's imperative to keep your belly full.
At 8:47pm I made it to Wamego where Tim and my dad switched out my water,
Spiz, and food bag.
By 8:55pm I was headed out to paddle the next 20 mi stretch to Maple Hill. Physically I felt great but mentally I was anxious about being on the river at night. I had never paddled in the dark before, let alone on a river that was 1 ft deep in some places and filled with sandbars, concrete, and rebar.
If it weren't for Kent & Kevin I'm convinced I'd still be stuck out on a sandbar somewhere. We paddled together for close to 5 hours and Kent pulled me out of at least 20 or more sandbars. They were the wind beneath my wings.
Around 2:30am we finally made it to Maple Hill. This was where I decided to bow out of the race. I was in 2nd place, but I didn't think it was worth pushing myself for another 5 hours at the risk of ruining the borrowed boat I was paddling, or even injuring myself. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold.
The next morning Kent, Em, Tim and I went to welcome in all the finishers. Out of 114 boats only 79 finished. The
KAW100 has since been appropriately named the "Devil's Waterpark" after all of the people (and boats) it destroyed. Some estimate $20,000 worth of ripped hulls and gashed yaks.
After paddling 42 miles I have so much respect for anyone who attempted this race. My buddy West came in 1st place finishing the entire race in just 15 hrs and 4 minutes. It almost ate him alive, but he did it and we couldn't be more proud of him!
Tim's mom and youngest sister Becka drove all the way from Tulsa to be there for the finish. I couldn't have felt more loved.
It's crazy to think this adventure all began with an
idea to enter a kayak race to help raise money for our friend's adoption. Six months ago
Em and I couldn't even tell you the difference between a single and double blade paddle. Now
Kent & Em now have their adoption fees paid in full and a baby to boot. What an incredible gift.
Some of you have asked if I will continue paddling now that the race is over. The answer is YES! I have grown to love it and plan on participating in more races once I get my own boat.
Thanks again to our many wonderful sponsors. Without you none of this would have been possible. And fist pumps and leg kicks to the paddling community who made this "DNF novice" feel like she had crossed the finish line. Ya'll are top notch.
Over and out,
Em
To kick off this week's FPF hammock challenge photos we have Greg McEvilly, the inventor of KAMMOK, a low cost bedding solution for orphans in developing countries. Greg threw double fist pumps for the overwhelming support him and his team have received on Kickstarter. 
Next meet Cassie, her daughter Alaire, and Cassie's very own twinner, Emmy. Bonus points for being wombmates and for participating in this week's FPF challenge! 
