The unofficial "prelim race" to the MR340 Missouri River race in August took place Saturday with more than 100 competitors.
The Missouri River Freedom Race is a 63-mile canoe and kayak race from Lamine to Jefferson City with the finish line at the late Joe Wilson's Serenity Point.
Organizers said this race allowed competitors to see what it was like to race on an important leg of the 340 race.
Racers also got the chance to see some key 340 checkpoints such as Katfish Katy's and the Noren Access while ground crews scoped out important access points such as Booneville, Cooper's Landing and Marion.
"We've done it the past six years, and it give the 340 racers about 3 to four weeks to try and work things out before the big race," Race Director Joe Mann said. He and partner Dylan McHarty were first arrive at Serenity Point around 3:20 p.m.
"I don't know what it is that makes people so obsessive about these races," said Mann, who has done the 340 six times and won the individual competition last year. "You do it once and you want to do it again, and you want to do better."
The MR340 is scheduled from Aug. 8-11 and goes across the state.