Mississippi River Record Video Archive

While I was researching the history of the Guinness World Record for paddling down the Mississippi River for my new book, Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories, I came across several videos of past record attempts, dating back to the 1978 world record by the Royal Air Force crew who kayaked the river. The staid BBC narration is soothing, even if paddling the entire Mississippi isn’t. Not all the attempts have video records (the full list is in the book), but here are the ones that do:

World Record Videos:

1978, 2ND GUINNESS RECORD: 42 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 59 MINUTES
The British Royal Air Force team of Brian Smith (34), Peter Dodd (22), Mac Macboyle (23), Terry Riley (21), John (Steve) Stevenson (38), and Steve Pinkham (26) set the Guinness World Record using tandem kayaks, reaching Mile Marker Zero after 42 days, 4 hours, and 59 minutes. The record-setting event was part of the Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee. The paddlers needed to qualify for the team through racing trials in England.

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1984, 4TH GUINNESS RECORD, FIRSTS: 23 DAYS, 10 HOURS, 20 MINUTES
Verlen Kruger (61) and Valerie Fons (33) set the Guinness World Record during the Eddie Bauer Mississippi Challenge, which was cosponsored by Mad River Canoe. This was the first attempt that used a deliberate strategy to sleep one paddler in the canoe while the other paddler kept the canoe moving on the river.

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2017, ATTEMPT (END: GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI)
Tim Muhich (27) led another four-man team of Clinton Adams (27), Colin Bright (mid-20s), and Dale Waldo (mid-20s). They set the fastest recorded pace recorded to date on the upper river sections, outpacing the 2003 Guinness World Record by twenty-four hours by New Boston, Illinois. Poor weather near Burlington and Nauvoo, Illinois, eroded their time advantage; by Cairo, Illinois, they realized they could not make up the time. Around thirty miles upstream from Greenville, Mississippi, Adams came down with heatstroke, forcing them to stop.

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2022, 1ST GUINNESS MISSISSIPPI PADDLING AGE RECORD: 87 YEARS OLD
Dale “Grey Beard” Sanders (87) set off from Lake Itasca on June 14 and reached Mile Marker Zero 87 days later, on September 7. This was the first official Guinness World Record for this category of paddling the Mississippi River. (Full documentary options here.)

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2021, 7TH GUINNESS RECORD: 17 DAYS, 19 HOURS, 46 MINUTES
KJ Millhone (62), Casey Millhone (20), Rod Price (60), and Bobby Johnson (43) of Team Mile Marker Zero set the Guinness World Record of 17 days, 19 hours, and 46 minutes. Their run had an on-water support craft. The record is covered at length in the chapters “An Epic Battle” and “Crewing the Record,” in Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories,

Author’s note: Since I was on the support crew for this attempt, I will just say that even if our paddling game was on, our social media games was a little off. You can find the sum total of the (three) videos produced by our social media team (who I was told were based in the U.K) here. This is my favorite:

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2023, 8TH GUINNESS RECORD: 16 DAYS, 20 HOURS, 16 MINUTES
Scott Miller (47), Judson Steinback (42), Paul Cox (53), and Wally Werderich (50) set the Guinness World Record of 16 days, 20 hours, and 16 minutes from May 10. Their run had on-water support craft and was characterized by good weather and water conditions, and few lock-dam delays. A more detailed account can be found in the chapter “A Race for Redemption.” in Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories.

You can purchase the full documentary here: Mississippi Speed Record: An Epic Adventure