West Newsmagazine 9-9-20

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Local family conquers the Missouri River
“... the journey was the prize.” – Brooke Williams
By BONNIE KRUEGER
Anne Mae (bow) and Ivy Williams
Established
in 1991
(Source: Leah Williams)
Despite the team name, muscle soreness,
strong headwinds, fog, lack of sleep – and
even boredom, the Williams family conquered
the Missouri River. From their first
paddle stroke in Kansas City to the final
row in St. Charles, “Imminent Mutiny,” as
they called their team, paddled together.
The team of dad, Brooke, and daughters,
Ivy and Anna Mae, dominated the Missouri
River 340, a 340-mile canoe or kayak race
across the state of Missouri. The race took
place Aug. 4-7.
Marquette High senior Ivy is a swimmer
and water polo player. Her older sister
Anna Mae, a 2020 graduate, is a diver and
pole vaulter. Training and conditioning
came first.
“We had to toughen up our hands and get
calluses so our hands wouldn’t blister. We
also needed to keep our bodies from stiffening
up,” Anna Mae said.
The best conditioning was getting in
the boat and paddling. Their runs ranged
from a short trek of 20 miles to the longest
practice run of 77 miles. Still, that was a
far cry from the race’s 340 miles. Racing
in the team division, the trio had 85 hours
to finish the race, with a personal goal to
finish around the 70-hour mark.
The team made impressive progress
on day one, traveling a total of
141 miles without stopping until
4:15 a.m. the next morning, a total
of 20 hours. The pace continued
for two more days.
Imminent Mutiny finished the
race in 57 hours, coming in 13th
place in their team division and
61st overall. The team impressively
placed in the top 20% of all racers.
With a combined total of just
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3.5 to 4.5 hours sleep
per day, over the three
days, there was a lot
of time to fill. That’s
where the girls shined.
Their mom, Leah,
describes Ivy as chief
entertainment officer.
“The longer she goes
without sleep, the
more comedic she becomes,” Leah wrote
in updates to friends and family. “This can
be good … or bad.”
Anna Mae was described as the team’s
cruise director, leading games, such as those
you might play on car rides. The mental
game was the hardest, staying awake and
keeping positive attitudes. Keeping each
other motivated was a team effort.
“Anna Mae liked to find shapes in
the clouds and ... in the trees,” Ivy said.
“Watching the sunset and the moonrise
each night, without any distraction, was
really special. We also saw some awesome
shooting stars and a bunch of bald eagles,
waterfowl and leaping Asian carp.”
Although the weather cooperated, at one
point, Brooke said the fog was so thick he
September 9, 2020
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
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The Williams family: Brooke, Leah, Anna Mae and Ivy (Source: Leah Williams)
could not see Anna Mae, who sat in front
of him in their 23-foot canoe.
With an eagle’s eye, Anna Mae served
as the team’s spotter searching for buoys,
wing dikes, day beacons and navigational
markers.
She said that, “the race was very much a
community race.”
“You paddle next to someone and you
end up talking with them. It’s beneficial
to hear other stories and their plans for the
night,” Ivy added.
Imminent Mutiny is proud of its accomplishment
and is looking toward an even
better race time next year.
“We were very focused on finishing the
race but the journey was the prize,” Brooke
said.
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