The longest point-to-point one-day race in North America, the famed END-WET race in the Red River will be held on June 15th in 2024. The state-to-state competition begins in North Dakota and ends 36 miles later in the state of Minnesota.
As two-time overall winner Sarah Thomas who has swum all over the world has said, “I’ve raced it three times and it never gets old.”
Past Male & Female Winners
- 2012 (43.5 km): Darren Miller 9 hours 11 minutes, Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist 9 hours 15 minutes
- 2013 (43.5 km): Karen Zemlin 6 hours 58 minutes, Bob Naylor 7 hours 22 minutes
- 2014 (58 km): Kevin Kopplin 8 hours 38 minutes, Kathleen Wilson 9 hours 9 minutes
- 2015 (58 km): Sarah Thomas 9 hours 43 minutes, William Leonard 9 hours 53 minutes
- 2016 (58 km): Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist 10 hours 44 minutes, Jeff Utsch 11 hours 13 minutes
- 2017 (58 km): Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist 10 hours 33 minutes, Arlo Lorenz 13 hours 48 minutes
- 2018 (58 km): Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist 9 hours 40 minutes, Stephen Rouch 10 hours 35 minutes
- 2019 (58 km): Sandra Frimerman-Bergquist 9 hours 21 minutes, Seth Baetzold 10 hours 21 minutes
- 2020: no race held
- 2021 (58 km): Sarah Thomas 13 hours 4 minutes, Seth Baetzold 13 hours 10 minutes
- 2022 (58 km): Jamie Proffitt 8 hours 32 minutes, Karen Zemlin 8 hours 33 minutes (shown above)
- 2023 (58 km): Michael Rice 9 hours 25 minutes, Linda Simons 10 hours 38 minutes
For more information and to register, visit here.
Guest swimmers have included Karen Zemlin, Bridgette Hobart Janeczko, Daniel O’Kane, Elaine Howley, Jeff Utsch, Sarah Thomas, Annaleise Carr, Jen Schumacher, and Darren Miller. Email hello@endracing.com with recommendations for future guest swimmers.
As Thomas described her experiences in the Mighty Red River of the North, “It’s a low key event down the muddy, turbid waters of the Red River of the North. It’s a long slog, longer depending on the river flow that year.”
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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