Very excited to have confirmed the 26-Mile END-WET Red River Swim event on Saturday, July 21, 2012! Andy Magness, Race Director, was gracious enough to extend an offer to fund my trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota – a trip I am really looking forward to since I have not been to that part of the United States. Andy claims the group is looking for around a dozen swimmers, including participants from California and Malaysia, to participate in the 1st Annual event down the Red River between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Oslo, Minnesota!
Preliminary Itinerary:
Friday, July 20, 2012:
Swimmers arrive in Grand Forks; pre-registration available.
Saturday, July 21, 2012:
7:00AM Solo swimmer race start.
8:00AM Team swimmers start
10:00AM Paddlecraft start
7:00PM Race cut-off time
*Times could be altered due to sunrise/sunset…
There will also be an athlete “brunch” on Sunday, July 22, where I will be speaking to the athletes, as well as other members of the Grand Forks community who have come out to support such an awesome race! It is very exciting to be able to reach out to a community outside of Pittsburgh, and talk more about the Team Forever charity and our mission to complete the Ocean’s Seven! Speaking of Ocean’s Seven, I will be swimming the Tsugaru Channel in Japan a few days prior to the Red River Swim, so it will be quick turnaround between the marathon swims!
Andy Magness:
“END-WET is directed by ENDracing, producer of some of the most challenging endurance events in the upper Midwest. I moved to Grand Forks from New Zealand in 2007 and after initially bemoaning the apparent lack of adventure, I have been determinedly creating it ever since, in the most unlikely of places. I am a veteran athlete and continue to experience endurance events of all sorts – from ultra-marathons, bike races, and swims to expedition length adventure races. Co-director Robert Treuer, a seasoned biker, swimmer, and triathlete has taken full advantage of the new offerings in his community over the last few years but has thankfully decided to bring his many management talents behind the scenes (although he secretly hopes to be able to make the swim himself!) this time and help coordinate what we think is going to be an epic event! Profits from the event will support Ground UP adventures, a sister organization to ENDracing who’s mission is to introduce area youth to the life-long benefits of adventure based activities.”
“We at ENDracing don’t like to reinvent the wheel. If there was another event of this magnitude in the upper Midwest we’d just go do that one. But there’s not – plain and simple. Swimming 26+ miles would present a challenge no matter what. It might seem that going down river is going to make it a lot easier, and it might. But in reality the current speed will be somewhere around 3/4 of a mile to 1 mile per hour, and if the notoriously strong North Dakota winds happen to be blowing from the north, (the river flows north), then all or most of that ‘boost’ might well be negated. Swimmers will have to actually pay attention – there will be no ‘automatic pilot’ – if they hope to go the distance. They will have to read the river and adjust their position constantly to stay in the strongest current or out of a headwind. They will have to be aware of potential hazards such as dead-heads or partial log jams (there won’t be any river spanning jams but there might be a few that stick out 10-20 feet from the bank, depending). And of course, they have to swim…. A LONG WAY!”
Using our love for the water to drive charitable missions – cannot think of anything better!