Mississippi River Canoe and Kayak Racing
By Clark Eid, Updated April 11, 2019
1872: Julius Chambers-First to travel down the Mississippi River using canoe and steamboat. Detailed in his 1910 book “The Mississippi River and its Wonderful Valley. Twenty-seven Hundred and Seventy-five Miles from Source to Sea”.
1881: Willard Glazier fraudulent claim for first to canoe the Mississippi River. Detailed in his 1887 book “Down the Great River”. Plagiarized other expedition reports, and was discredited by both the MN State Legislature and the MN Historical Society.
1925: Albert Tousley; first to canoe the entire Mississippi River. Trip took 105 days and was detailed in his 1928 book “Where Goes the River”. Albert had two different paddling partners during trip.
1937: Joe Tagg, Gerald Capers and Charles Saunders paddled a canoe from Itasca to New Orleans in 56 days. Joseph Tagg (Jr.) died in 2008 and his obituary mentions the trip was recorded in the Guinness Book World Records as the “first crew to canoe the Mississippi River from the source to the mouth” in the fall of 1976. Trip was detailed in Gerald M. Capers’ 1977 book “The Mississippi River: Before and After Mark Twain” and an article by Capers in the 1937 Commencement Issue of The Southwestern Alumni Magazine. The group portaged Lake Pepin, stopped their run in New Orleans and not all paddlers were in canoe on some sections. (CE has not confirmed the Guinness Record.)
1978: British SAF Team of Brian Smith, Peter Dodd, Mac Macboyle, Terry Riley, John (Steve) Stevenson and Steve Pinkham set official Guinness World Record of 42 Days, 4 Hours and 59 Minutes.
1980: Steven M. Eckelkamp and K. J. Millhone set official Guinness World Record of 35 Days, 11 Hours and 27 Minutes.
1981: Verlen Kruger and Steve Landick paddled up the Mississippi River in 83 Days, 5 hours and 18 minutes. (CE has not confirmed Guinness World Record.)
1984: Verlen Kruger and Valerie Fons set official Guinness World Record of 23 Days, 10 Hours and 20 minutes during the Eddie Bauer Mississippi Challenge. First record attempt that slept in canoe while on water.
1989: Bill Perdzock and Mike Schnitska set official Guinness World Record of 23 Days, 9 Hours and 51 Minutes.
2001: “The Great Mississippi River Race for Rett Syndrome”, setting a world record for the longest non-stop Canoe/ Kayak Race. The five-team event was sanctioned by the ACA and the USCA. Verlen Kruger and Bob Bradford of Team Kruger won 1st place at 24 Days, 17 hours and 51 minutes. Clark Eid and Kurt Zimmermann of Team Double Helix won 2nd place and set unofficial kayak world record of 26 Days, 6 Hours and 40 Minutes.
2003: “The Mississippi River Challenge for Rett Syndrome and Leukodystrophy”. Clark Eid and Bob Bradford of Team Hope set official Guinness World Record of 18 Days, 4 Hours and 51 Minutes.
Notable attempts and accomplishments for paddling the Mississippi River
2011: David Cornthwaite first to stand-up-paddleboards (SUP) the Mississippi River in 82 days.
2015: Dale Sanders; became the oldest person to canoe the Mississippi River.
Notable accomplishments for paddling the Missouri-Mississippi River complex
1977: Nicholas Francis claims Guinness World Record for solo canoeing (kayak) the Missouri and Mississippi River complex. Trip is detailed in his 1990 book “Mississippi Madness: Canoeing the Mississippi Missouri”. (CE has not confirmed Guinness World Record.)
2012: Mark Kalch solo paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 117 days
2013: Rod Wellington solo paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 256 days
2014: Janet Moreland became first woman to solo paddle Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 223 days.
2014: Paul Gamache paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 78 days.
1881: Willard Glazier fraudulent claim for first to canoe the Mississippi River. Detailed in his 1887 book “Down the Great River”. Plagiarized other expedition reports, and was discredited by both the MN State Legislature and the MN Historical Society.
1925: Albert Tousley; first to canoe the entire Mississippi River. Trip took 105 days and was detailed in his 1928 book “Where Goes the River”. Albert had two different paddling partners during trip.
1937: Joe Tagg, Gerald Capers and Charles Saunders paddled a canoe from Itasca to New Orleans in 56 days. Joseph Tagg (Jr.) died in 2008 and his obituary mentions the trip was recorded in the Guinness Book World Records as the “first crew to canoe the Mississippi River from the source to the mouth” in the fall of 1976. Trip was detailed in Gerald M. Capers’ 1977 book “The Mississippi River: Before and After Mark Twain” and an article by Capers in the 1937 Commencement Issue of The Southwestern Alumni Magazine. The group portaged Lake Pepin, stopped their run in New Orleans and not all paddlers were in canoe on some sections. (CE has not confirmed the Guinness Record.)
1978: British SAF Team of Brian Smith, Peter Dodd, Mac Macboyle, Terry Riley, John (Steve) Stevenson and Steve Pinkham set official Guinness World Record of 42 Days, 4 Hours and 59 Minutes.
1980: Steven M. Eckelkamp and K. J. Millhone set official Guinness World Record of 35 Days, 11 Hours and 27 Minutes.
1981: Verlen Kruger and Steve Landick paddled up the Mississippi River in 83 Days, 5 hours and 18 minutes. (CE has not confirmed Guinness World Record.)
1984: Verlen Kruger and Valerie Fons set official Guinness World Record of 23 Days, 10 Hours and 20 minutes during the Eddie Bauer Mississippi Challenge. First record attempt that slept in canoe while on water.
1989: Bill Perdzock and Mike Schnitska set official Guinness World Record of 23 Days, 9 Hours and 51 Minutes.
2001: “The Great Mississippi River Race for Rett Syndrome”, setting a world record for the longest non-stop Canoe/ Kayak Race. The five-team event was sanctioned by the ACA and the USCA. Verlen Kruger and Bob Bradford of Team Kruger won 1st place at 24 Days, 17 hours and 51 minutes. Clark Eid and Kurt Zimmermann of Team Double Helix won 2nd place and set unofficial kayak world record of 26 Days, 6 Hours and 40 Minutes.
2003: “The Mississippi River Challenge for Rett Syndrome and Leukodystrophy”. Clark Eid and Bob Bradford of Team Hope set official Guinness World Record of 18 Days, 4 Hours and 51 Minutes.
Notable attempts and accomplishments for paddling the Mississippi River
2011: David Cornthwaite first to stand-up-paddleboards (SUP) the Mississippi River in 82 days.
2015: Dale Sanders; became the oldest person to canoe the Mississippi River.
Notable accomplishments for paddling the Missouri-Mississippi River complex
1977: Nicholas Francis claims Guinness World Record for solo canoeing (kayak) the Missouri and Mississippi River complex. Trip is detailed in his 1990 book “Mississippi Madness: Canoeing the Mississippi Missouri”. (CE has not confirmed Guinness World Record.)
2012: Mark Kalch solo paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 117 days
2013: Rod Wellington solo paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 256 days
2014: Janet Moreland became first woman to solo paddle Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 223 days.
2014: Paul Gamache paddled the Missouri-Mississippi River complex in 78 days.