Since I live in Texas I was planning on making the Water Safari this year. After I got to researching it I found out this is a REAL race. You have to finish in 100 hours to get the plaque. That's all I'm going for...to finish...next year...not this year. I had to change my plans to include a new kayak, getting in shape, etc., etc.(I'm an older person), and running in a few of the shorter races to see how it is. The winners, as you said, are in the long boats. The record is 29.46 hours for 260 miles. That's over 8.6 miles an hour average. That was a 6 man boat. I know of one 30 foot strip built that is being built for that race. Anyway...if you are planning on winning that race you'll have to be an olympic class paddler, OR you can do what I plan on doing and just run to finish within the 100 hour limit. I'm building my kayak for a cruise speed of 4 miles per hour and I plan on sleeping a little...unlike some of those who start hallucinating. If you want more information on the safari just use a search engine and type in "Texas Water Safari"