KIRKWOOD, MO- The Meramec Marathon returned to its roots as the 2024 edition made it’s way back to Saint Louis.This was a historic year for the race with the highest registration numbers the race has seen, as well as a dragon boat making its way down the river!
Pacific Palisades Conservation Area hosted the start of the marathon course with over 36 boats on the water and 66 paddlers taking off at 7:30 sharp. Returning champs, Tom Le and Jeff Behrens teamed up with Bryan Hopkins to form a bit of a powerhouse in KE-TO-GA that took off and never looked back. They finished in a stunning 3 hours and 36 minutes to set a course record, closely followed by River Fitness of Brad Daniels and Dylan McHardy, and rounding out the podium with MR Some Beaches with Rusty Self, Thomas Selva, Garon Robinett, Larry Long, and Nicholas Wagner.
The short course this year left from the Al Foster Trailhead in Wildwood for the 12 mile paddle to the finish at Greentree Park in Kirkwood. We had 14 boats race leave at 9:30am and within 5 minutes, the leaders of the marathon were in sight. The short course was won by Jon Marble in a time of 1 hour and 49 minute followed by Justin Simmons and Charles Jacks.
A big thank you goes to event sponsors RaceOwl, Great Harvest of Kirkwood, 4 Hands Brewing Co., Yakima, FITS Socks, and Optimal Performance Centers for helping put on all of our races for you!
Join us next year for 2025!
PHOTOS by Marcus Janzow Photography- Marathon | Short