Missouri River Overall Fastest Known Paddle: 33D, 18H, 45M

Verlen Kruger, age 57 & Steve Landick, age 27

May 2nd-June 24th, 1980

2341 miles (approximately)

Start: Missouri River headwaters, Montana 9am, May 2nd, 1980.

Finish: Lewis & Clark Park, Illinois 3:45m, June 4th, 1980. This site is across the Mississippi River from the Missouri/Mississippi confluence.

Boats: Kruger Loon solo canoes (each paddled their own). We classify this as the overall FKP but NOT as the solo male record because Verlen and Steve often used two poles to form a catamaran of sorts (see notes below).

This trip was one small part of the 28,000 miles they paddled and set the Guinness World Record for longest journey by canoe (with portages).

Notes: According to the book “All Things are Possible: The Verlen Kruger Story” by Phil Peterson Sr., “Verlen and Steve intended to set a speed record for paddling the entire Missouri River. [They] paddled 2,415 miles from Three Forks…to the Mississippi…in 33 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. That record still stands today”. According to the book “The Ultimate Canoe Challenge” by Verlen Kruger and Brand Frentz, Verlen and Steve, at times, formed a catamaran using two fiberglass poles to attach their two boats, which allowed one of them to sleep while the other continued paddling. Verlen writes “Our goal was to get down the Missouri in the fastest time possible” (page 7). They had frequent areas of low water and head winds and often paddled through the night, but had high, fast water once they got past the final dam and made good time. They had decided to try and paddle the last 1,000 miles in less than 10 days, and they succeeded.

Verlen and Steve’s record was just a tiny portion of their extraordinary 28,000 mile “Ultimate Canoe Challenge” that had them cross-crossing and circumnavigating North America over 3.5 years of travel. Their trip actually started at Red Rock, Montana on April 29, 1980. Verlen was 58 years old; Steve was 27. They paddled the down the Red Rock, Beaverhead and the Jefferson before arriving at the headwaters of the Missouri.

During their trip they paddled to the Arctic Ocean north of Canada, down the west coast of North America, up the Grand Canyon, up the entire Mississippi River and much more.