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I have been sitting here trying to figure out how you write an article about your own event, and I have just come to the conclusion that there's no real easy way to do it from a "media outlet" standpoint. So I figured I would share my experiences from the weekend, and tell you guys how it went from the control tower so to speak.

(Your 2015 King of the River Boat 36!)
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Before I get started, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK EVERY SINGLE RACE TEAM AND STAFF MEMBER OF THE ENDURO FOR A FAVOR. I would like everybody that was involved with the event to write us an e-mail that tells us your thoughts on what we can improve for on for the Enduro in 2016 (maybe 5 - 10 bullet points). Please include all of your contact information (including address of boat owner) / Boat #'s / All Drivers / crew names in that e-mail as well!! The e-mail address to send that too is [email protected]! I really want to hear from everyone that participated, so that we can continue to grow this event and make it better each year!

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While the core of the race is basically the same, a 12 mile course, 336 miles etc.. We did make a few changes this year starting with Dave Rankin being the Race Director and Ben Marrone being the Assistant (to the assistant) Race Director. We did make a few rule changes this year, I think a lot were for the better, but there's a few things we overlooked that had unintended consequences. Some of those we are already aware of, and will be fixing, others we may not be, and that's why we are asking for feedback from the teams just to make sure we don't miss anything for 2016. That Feedback should also include things outside of the rules, and include things like the general flow of the event etc.

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-The Recap from my point of view -

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From where I'm standing I couldn't be happier with how the 2015 336 went. I had a lot of reservations about this years race. I was working with a race director that I had never physically met in person, and only had a few casual phone calls with before the event. I actually met Dave Rankin for the first time Thursday morning!

The event more or less was like a tempermental boat motor. It started a little cold, and sputtered a few times on thursday morning. Rankin remained calm through all the adversity though, and kept throwing starting fluid at her, and little by little each cylinder came to life. We started a little late on Friday, but Dave had her firing on all 8 by midmorning on Friday.

(GN's getting ready to make their Qualifying Lap)
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We started with Qualifying / Test and Tune for three hours, and then handed it off to the two K Boats that came out. Because the Super Stocks weren't able to make it, we had a little extra time, and Dave figured it would be beneficial to some of the racers to open up the course to more "test and tune" so we opened up the course again for a few hours for teams to be able to take advantage of that.

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By Friday afternoon we had everybody registered, and people started coming up to the RDP booth to get their dinner tickets for the Banquet at Strokes Steak House that night. Somewhere between Friday Morning and Friday afternoon we lost the dinner tickets. That doesn't sound like that big of a problem, except we had already given half of them out. This could've been disastrous, but after digging through countless boxes of shirts, and vehicles, we finally turned up with them. There was probably 10 little things like that, that happened throughout the course of the weekend. From the printer breaking when we were trying to print out the announcement cards for Mike Minnegar, to the new printer we bought not being able to connect to the computer (took 3 hours to get it to work), and of course my favorite one of the Ranger Crews all of a sudden not running Saturday morning. (Thanks to Timmy Carmack for getting it up and running again!)

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Behind the scenes, it's kind of like playing Whack A Mole. Little problems pop up every which way, and I run around with a garden hose putting out small fires, while the event continues on.

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The Friday night Banquet at Strokes was an ABSOLUTE HIT once again!! I think it's great that the Racers all get out of "Enduro" mode for a few hours, and get to socialize with other guys with the same sickness. It's also nice because their families, and friends all get to be a part of the event, in a relaxed "Let your Hair down" style party. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate Kandi and Allen from Strokes doing this every year for us!! That party has been such a success the last 2 years that the Lucas Oil Drags did a similar event at Strokes (on a much larger scale)! Of course the Wozencraft girls were their representing, and socializing with clients and making new ones.

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Saturday morning Started early with the Ski Races. A lot of people watch from the Shoreline's up and down the river, and when they finally did make it down to the casino, the common "mantra" was "WE LOVED THE SKI RACES!!" If the NWSRA is so inclined we would love to have them back next year, I think it was a great addition to the Enduro for the Spectators. We had quite a few boats pull double time, and race the Enduro as well! I think next year there will be even more with some of the changes we are bringing. It should be noted that Ski Race boats took First, Second, and Third overall in the 2015 Enduro!

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I have a lot of boat racers tell me "Dave one of these days you have to drive a boat in the Enduro and experience the rush from the start and chasing one guy down to the next." My response is, "Someday you should stand on the beach and look out over the line up, and realize that all these guys came out to support the event that you and your team put together!"

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Watching the start of the Enduro for me has always been exhilarating, watching it now that I help to put it on is borderline emotional. It's months of work that has finally culminated into that moment. The race itself is enough to give me grey hairs, because I'm always stressed out about someone possibly getting hurt, or something happening during the race. Thankfully we haven't had to cross that bridge, and I hope we never do.

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I talk to a lot of people during the day, and after the race itself to see how it went for them, and how their experience was during it. Walking around the Pits, and the beach, it's was all smiles and thumbs ups. That for me is what it's all about. For a sport that is notorious for huge ego's, arguments, and yelling matches, to have no conflicts, and have people shaking hands, and buying each other beers at the awards is a testament to the "vibe" of the event that Dave Rankin, Ben Marrone, and Mike Minegar (announcing) put out on race day. That relaxed and fun vibe is what keeps people coming back, and ultimately what is responsible for the rapid growth this event is experiencing. I can say pretty confidently, that if we don't shake up the recipe too much next year is going to be HUGE. I will also say that we have already been Green lighted by the Casino for next year and the Dates for the 2016 Enduro will be OCT 28 - 29!!

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I'd like to say Congratulations to Brian Stern / Brad Stern / Cameron Bookey from Panic Attack Racing, for playing the stop watches and the rules to perfection. They are the 2015 Kings of the River!

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Congrats to Randy Davis / Gordon Jennings / Billy Dunsmore From Team Nordic for a second place finish overall this year! (They are also the 2014 Winner overall Kings of the River!)

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Congrats to Jeff Barrus / Abe Andrus / Andy Klee with Angry Bird Racing for a third place finish overall this year!

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I would like to say thank you to everybody that came out to be a Safety Boat / Rescue Boats! There's an awful lot of guys to list there between WMI Rescue, and my guys that came out to volunteer (approximately 45 people). Just know that this race wouldn't happen without you guys coming out and volunteering your time and boats to do it!


The Sponsors of the Enduro this year as always were great to work with, and I hope everyone that is a fan of the Enduro supports their businesses and efforts.

Nordic Boats - Title Sponsor
Blue Water Casino - Host Hotel
Krude Boys Racing - Hall of Fame Sponsor
Team Stoker Boats - Charter Sponsor
Bowden Developments - Technical Sponsor
Palomar Solar - Technical Sponsor
Wozencraft - Technical Sponsor
Barrett Custom Marine - Technical Sponsor
Graphic Ink - Technical Sponsor
Strokes Steak House - Technical Sponsor
Jimmyz Pool and Spa - Technical Sponsor
Maxed Out Marine - Technical Sponsor
JMS Racing Speed and Machine - Technical Sponsor
GPM Full Service Boat Storage - Technical Sponsor
Scicon Technologies - Technical Sponsor
Sinthetix - Technical Sponsor
Regional Equipment Services - Technical Sponsor
Marine Industries West - Race Supporter