The END (Extreme North Dakota) concept began with the hosting of North Dakota's first ever Adventure Race back in 2007. Jason, Sam, and Dan (of Team YogaSlackers) designed a brutal 12-hour course. A veteran of over 60 races, Jason and crew broke the mold of regional small time races, and offered cash prizes and lots of great swag from sponsors. Most of the teams in the race had no idea what they were getting into, and 90% of the teams finished within 15 minutes of the final cut-off - wet, bedraggled and amazed at what they'd accomplished.
The overall winners that year were a team from Minnesota (Team Gear Junkie). The Top Co-ed team (traditionally all professional AR teams must be co-ed) was led by Jason's twin brother, Andy. The top two person co-ed team was local hard man and woman - Jim and Teresa Grijalva. Overall the race was a great success, with 19 teams.
Jason and the YogaSlacker crew promised to return in 2008, but their own racing and teaching schedule kept them away - much to the consternation of many adventure athletes looking forward to another race.
In 2009, Andy took up the torch, and put on a 10-hour sufferfest, that continued the END-AR name. He partnered with the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals, and grew the profile of the race.
In 2010 - ENDracing put on three races -
- IceMan Triathlon (END-IT) - a winter multisport race
- Spring Primer Adventure Race (END-SPAR) - a 4-6 hour "beginner friendly" adventure race
- END-AR - the original 10-12 hr race to put all teams to the test.
2011 saw the addition of a wildly popular 12 hour mountain bike race - END-TOMBED to the line-up and END-AR being expanded to a 24 hour event - the first ever 24 hour race in the state. In addition, this year marked the launch of Ground Up Adventures, a sister non-profit organization dedicated to bringing ENDracing style adventure to the youth of the Red River Valley.
2012 promises more action than ever with all four previous races returning and at least one more race - a downriver paddling marathon (END-WET) added to the schedule. Its going to be an awesome year!
2012 promises more action than ever with all four previous races returning and at least one more race - a downriver paddling marathon (END-WET) added to the schedule. Its going to be an awesome year!
