Joe Zellner Wins Dakota 72 with Course Record!

SOUTH DAKOTA KAYAK CHALLENGE: More than 150 race in 2012 South Dakota Kayak Challenge; winner sets course time in less than 9 hours.

Pre Race Staging

Jarett Bies, Race Director, Just before Start

June 13, 2012

YANKTON, S.D. – One hundred fifty-six racers took part in the May 26-27, 2012 South Dakota Kayak Challenge, with more than 100 finishing the 72-mile race on the Missouri River.

Joe Zellner of Grand Marais, Minn., finished first with a time of 8 hours, 50 minutes in the race’s men’s competitive class to set a new course record. Carol Heddinghaus of Rolla, Mo., was the first woman to finish in 12 hours, 30 minutes. The past record for the course, 10 hours, 6 minutes, was set in 2010.

Joe Zellner ,Winner, Course Record, 8:50:00

Joe Zellner in Stellar 18R

In its third year, the South Dakota Kayak Challenge (SDKC) had 170 registrations, up from nearly 100 in 2010. Flooding on the Missouri River in 2011 led to the event’s cancellation. Surf ski, canoe and kayak racers from 15 states signed up for the event. Complete results are available at the SDKC website: http://sdkayakchallenge.org.

Pit Stop OC2 and Ski

Racers faced cloudy skies at the start of the event and strong southeasterly winds that shifted to the south. Wind gusts of 30 mph were common throughout the day and evening, and while the sun warmed paddlers in the afternoon, the wind was a constant companion to those who took part. One hundred-three finishers completed the course in Sioux City, where spectators and volunteers cheered their completion at Bev’s on the River Marina. The final finishers completed the course in 27 hours, 27 minutes. Racers are allowed 30 hours to complete the event.

All types of Craft

A Big River!

Race organizer and SDKC co-founder Jarett Bies said the success of the event is credit to the river’s natural beauty and the strength of the community that knows it well. “When we had to cancel in 2011, only two days prior to the event, it was heart-breaking,” he said. “But nearly 95 percent of racers signed up then said hold our registrations; we’ll come back in 2012. They did, and they brought many others. Their spirit fueled our volunteers who made our event safe and successful.”

Jarett Bies, Race Director and Jay Heath

The SDKC returns Memorial Day Weekend 2013, May 25-26. While registration is not open now, it will begin later this year, at http://sdkayakchallenge.org. The event’s Facebook page, http://on.fb.me/KUuNtx, includes a wide range of links to photos, video and more information on this spirited event. You can call organizer Jarett Bies for questions on sponsorship at 605-941-4940 or email him at jbies0341@hotmail.com.

Below are hundreds of wonderful pictures by three photographers of whose photo’s I used.

By Jarett Bies:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7295729232/in/set-72157629954645952/

(Horizontal before start above; vertical of same below.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7295732056/

By Brian Wells:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7317049520/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7320659766/

By Dawne Olson:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7301983938/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7302144094/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bieso/7301969864/