27th Annual Great Mississippi Canoe & Kayak Race

By Boyd Ruppelt

Last weekend was the 27th time over 500 competitors raced down a 3 mile stretch of the mighty Mississippi River in Memphis, TN for the Outdoors Inc. Great Mississippi Canoe & Kayak Race. As one of the largest and most varied paddling events of the year and voted "Best Race in America" by Paddler Magazine, this year seemed bigger and better than ever with Jackson Kayak and Jackson Rec in the middle of all the action. Surounded on one side by the sounds and bustle of the Beale Street Music Festival and on the other by the peaceful torrent of the Mississippi River this event has a unique feeling and appeal to it, like no other. Blessed by good weather and a great crowd, Jackson Kayak’s own Samantha Brunner and myself, Boyd Ruppelt, and the help of some close friends (Jeremy Moya and his girlfriend Marissa) and family (thanks dad!), got to kick off Jackson Rec in a huge way with Outdoors Inc. This will be the first year for Jackson Rec to be sold in all Outdoors Inc. stores along side Jackson Kayak. People seemed absolutely stoked about the new Rec designs and we found lots of enthusiasm around the new Hero series whitewater boats. Whitewater kayakers from Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, and more, were stoked to find the designs they’ve all been waiting for! This year’s race was a huge success for Jackson Kayak and Jackson Rec so stay tuned for more on the Outdoors Inc. Demo Day! 🙂

The 2008 Press Release
More on the Race:
Boyd
PS- I did escape briefly during a slow moment to take some pictures of the booth and the crowd… enjoy!

 


a busy Sam discussing playboat options


C&KRace08


Jackson Rec was a HUGE hit with the kids and families


left to right Rissa, Jeremy, and Boyd fix things up during the awards


lots of people


Since the Stohlquist and KAVU rep couldn’t make it, we were forced to balance 3 booths in one


the crowd