2012 News

Registration for Kayak Challenge set to begin; Missouri River race covers more than 70 miles
By Michael Neary Pierre Capital Journal
December 30, 2011

PIERRE - Kayakers in the region are starting to contemplate a watery trail of more than 70 miles along the Missouri River.

That’s the distance of the South Dakota Kayak Challenge, slated for May 26-27, 2012. Registration begins on Sunday, Jan. 1.

The course runs through the Missouri National Recreational River, from Yankton all the way to Sioux City, Iowa. The route will enable kayaker to savor the majesty of the river through a wide swath of the region, said Jarett Bies, who lives in Elkton.

Bies co-founded the Kayak Challenge with Steven Dahlmeier.

The two tried to start the challenge in late 2008. They originally charted a path that began at Lake Oahe, near the U.S. 212 bridge, and ended at the Oahe Dam. The remoteness of the area, Bies said, might have chilled the response they received.

“We had one brave, adventurous soul sign up for that,” he said.

So, Bies and Dahlmeier returned to their planning and devised the current course.

“When we recalculated, we thought it would be best to find a route that still captured the beauty of the river … but that had some infrastructure on either end,” he said.

By 2010 the challenge was in place, with 96 participants weaving their crafts through the course. The race included veteran paddlers and relative newcomers.

“We had a number of participants who had never kayaked on the Missouri River before,” he said. “They’d done some lake paddling, but they hadn’t done anything on a moving body of water.”

In the following year, 2011, flooding canceled the Challenge.

By launching the Challenge, Bies and Dahlmeier are presenting an activity that doesn’t always seize the area’s imagination – at least in Pierre – according to a local store owner who sells kayaks.

“Despite incredibly good conditions, kayaking is not really popular here,” said Jim Dial, owner of Pedal & Paddle in Pierre.

One Pierre resident who does like to kayak is Patrick Wellner. He participated in the 2010 Kayak Challenge, battling a tough headwind and finishing in just less than 14 hours. The furthest he’d paddled before that was about 20 miles.

Wellner agreed that motorized boats tend to pervade the waters in the Pierre region. But kayaks, he said, sometimes have an edge on those crafts.

“There are a few spots that I can get into that a motorized boat isn’t going to get to,” he said.
Bies said that training is important in a kayak race, but he said the race doesn’t demand the sort of grueling preparation that some other sports do.

“Kayaking has its own learning curve that’s pretty forgiving,” he said. “You would be able to do an event like ours with minimal training, compared to running a marathon.”

Bies said four checkpoints will be stationed along the course. Those spots, he said, will help organizers to keep track of the participants and allow participants to receive refreshments from friends or family members. The organizers themselves will provide water and ice.

The checkpoints will also allow participants to leave the race if they need to.

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2010 News

Dakota Life: South Dakota Kayak Challenge
South Dakota Public Broadcasting

DAKOTA LIFE follows Tim and Kim Cowman as they paddle from Yankton to Sioux City in a grueling test of endurance on one of the last remaining "wild" stretches of the Missouri River.

Click here to watch the video

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South Dakota Kayak Challenge underway
The race is on!
KTIV | May 29, 2010

YANKTON, SD (KTIV) -- Over 90 kayakers gathered on the banks of the Missouri River in Yankton, South Dakota, on Saturday morning and they all came for the same thing: The South Dakota Kayak Challenge.

The race begins here at Riverside Park in Yankton, South Dakota and goes 75 miles downstream the Missouri River where it finally ends in Sioux City. This is why racers are getting 36 hours to complete the event.

It's more than just a race. It's a joy ride.

Jarett Bies, race organizer said, "People who live here and who paddle on the river know what a beautiful resource this is. What a beautiful treasure it is.

And that's exactly what race organizers wanted to share with kayakers from across the U.S.

One distraction from all that beauty on a day like this is the wind.

Tim Hansen, of Sioux City said, "A little nervous about the wind. There's a lot of wind going on. I know we have a good current going down but we also have a big wind coming back at us so it's going to make it difficult.

After the start, most the racers didn't seem too worried.

Leslie File, of Omaha NE said, "So far, so good!"

A lot were just there to take in the scenery and enjoy some friendly competition.

Nathan Edwards, of Moorehead Minnesota said, "I just like the challenge. Something to keep me busy."

Others weren't at all concerned with how long it was going to take them to finish.

They just wanted to prove they could.

Jim Michels, of Ankeny IA said, "Oh, I'll definitely make it. Might take me a couple of days, though.

The river was filled with kayakers all paddling for their own reasons.

Jarett Bies said, "We're over-over joyed with almost 100 people in our first-year event and really look forward to being something that we can continue to grow over the years.

Kayakers to race down the Missouri River Saturday
KTIV | May 28, 2010

YANKTON, S.D. (KTIV) -- It's a 72 mile race, but not on land. It's the first ever South Dakota Kayak Challenge on the Missouri River.

The race starts in Yankton, South Dakota on Saturday at Riverside Park at 7 a.m. Kayakers will have 36 hours to paddle down the river to Sioux City with four checkpoints in between.

The checkpoints are at Myron Grove, Mulberry Bend, Bolton and Rosenbaum Landing.

Organizers say they hope to make the race, modeled after other races in Texas and Kansas, an annual event.

Siouxland to host first-ever kayak race
Memorial Day weekend event spans 70 miles of Missouri River

By Bret Hayworth, Sioux City Journal | May 2, 2010

YANKTON, S.D. -- A Missouri River alternative sport will be held Memorial Day weekend, when kayakers and canoeists can paddle vessels from Yankton, S.D. to Sioux City.

The first-ever South Dakota Kayak Challenge will begin at 7 a.m. May 29, giving participants 36 hours to make it 70 miles downstream to Bev's on the River in Sioux City by 7 p.m. Sunday.

Organizer Jarett Bies, vice president of the South Dakota Canoe & Kayak Association, said the event is a great way to take in the beauty of the Missouri River as it forms the border of South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. The challenge is modeled on the Missouri River 340, a 340-mile race that runs from Kansas City to St. Louis, with four days to complete.

"You have to really bust ass to get to the checkpoints," he said of the 340.

Having a 70-mile race, he said, makes it more user-friendly for first-timers.

While the challenge has the word 'kayak' in the title, the event is open to any paddle-powered craft, including canoes and surf skis. Bies figures more kayaks than canoes will be involved in the challenge, and the fastest participants could finish in roughly nine hours.

Bies, who lives in Elkton, travels the Missouri River roughly a half-dozen times per year, and used to kayak in the Siouxland portion of the river frequently when he lived in Sioux Falls. The challenge has drawn two dozen entrants to date, including Iowans from as far away as Oakland and Ogden.

"Our goal is to have a safe and challenging race," Bies said.

FYI: Kayak Challenge

Registration: The fee for the race is $50 and the deadline is May 15.

Route: The full route is available on the South Dakota Kayak Challenge website at sdkayakchallenge.org.

Information: Call organizers Jarett Bies at 605-941-4940 or Steven Dahlmeier at 605-864-9011 for more information.

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_0ec2264b-18f6-59ea-bfd0-b27f5e1ff34f.html

Kayak the Mighty Mo
South Dakota Magazine by John Andrews | April 1, 2010

Our upcoming issue (May/June) will feature our third special 25th anniversary story on 25 things everyone should do in South Dakota. One of our ideas is to canoe the last wild stretch of the Missouri River from Yankton to Ponca, Neb. The rest of the river is all channels and reservoirs, but that 59-mile portion looks a lot like it did when Lewis and Clark paddled by over 200 years ago. There are snags, backwaters, sandbars with endangered birds and maybe a paddle fish or pallid sturgeon.

If you want to check that one off the list, sign up for the South Dakota Kayak Challenge, a two-day adventure (May 29-30) along the Missouri National Recreational River. The course begins in Yankton and ends in Sioux City, making it 75 miles. The cost is $50 per paddler, and registration closes May 15. Visit their web site for a list of rules, requirements and suggestions on how to prepare.

http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/editors_notebook.php?p=3075