Home » Two teams meet the KAWC KR255 Endurance Race Challenge

Two teams meet the KAWC KR255 Endurance Race Challenge

KR255-Finishers
Kentucky American Water employees (L-R) Nathan Clark, Mike Maggard, Trent Ellsworth, Eileen Burk and Brad Kinckiner. Eric Buelna, of Sea Squirrel, is in back.

Lexington, Ky., (June 28, 2016) – A team of four Kentucky American Water employees based in Lexington, Ky., and an individual from Hymera, Ind., both met the challenge of last week’s KR255 Endurance Race Challenge on the Kentucky River by completing the journey from Beattyville, Ky., to Carrollton, Ky., within 100 hours.

The Kentucky American Water team, River Raven, reached the Ohio River at Carrollton at 3 a.m. Saturday, June 25, while Sea Squirrel reached the finish line around 5 a.m. that day.

Kentucky American Water, along with Asbury University Center for Adventure Leadership in partnership with the Kentucky River Authority, teamed up to present the first KR255 – a 255-mile endurance canoe/kayak race along the Kentucky River from the river’s origins in Eastern Kentucky to its northernmost point where it flows into the Ohio River. The competition started at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21. Competitors had exactly 100 hours to complete the course.

Kentucky American Water employees Eileen Burk, Nathan Clark, Brad Kinckiner, and Mike Maggard led the way throughout the entire competition, which started with six teams. Eric Buelna, of Sea Squirrel, stayed close behind, and was the second boat to complete the extreme race.

Paddlers could compete in the KR255 as solo participants, tandem teams or teams of three to four people. All were required to traverse around the 14 locks along the route, which were used as checkpoints throughout the course.