Father & daughter take on endeavor to set new world record for fastest time to paddle down Mississippi River

WINONA, Minn, (WKBT) – A Minnesota father and daughter are taking on a big endeavor to beat a Guinness World Record.

KJ and Casey Millhone of Wayzata are canoeing the length of the Mississippi River, a 2,350-mile journey, in 18 days or less.

With their two other teammates, Rod Price and Bobby Johnson, their goal is to set a new record for the fastest time to paddle down the entire Mississippi; claiming back the title KJ first set in 1980.

If they succeed, KJ will be the oldest person to complete the journey at age 62, and 20-year-old Casey will be the youngest female to do so.

They set off for their adventure from Lake Itasca, Minnesota on April 22nd, and paddled through Winona Tuesday.

The duo said taking on this challenge together makes the journey extra special.

“I was talking about doing it again, and (Casey) turned to me at the dinner table and said ‘dad if you’re going to do this, I want to do it.'” KJ said. “It’s not too often your then 18-year-old daughter decides she wants to spend time with her father, so I said, ‘well then let’s do it.'”

“It’s nice to have someone who knows you really well, that you’ve grown up with on the team with you when you’re doing something difficult,” Casey said.

The team has already paddled about 650 miles, which is a little more than 25% of their trip.

And they’re making good time.

KJ said they’re about ten and a half hours ahead of the world record pace.

But taking home the title isn’t their only mission.

They partnered up with the Mississippi River Network, a coalition of 56 non-profit organizations, to raise awareness about protecting the river.

You can keep track of their adventure by visiting mmzero.org.

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