March 2015

ENDracing, Gen. 2

I (Andy), have moved on. This winter my wife and boys relocated back to New Zealand.  What was initially planned as an extended holiday has transformed into a permanent stay.  In a way, things have come full circle for us--we’re back where we first became a family and back where much of the inspiration for both ENDracing and Ground UP Adventures came from.

It has been an unexpected transition--we left Grand Forks with return tickets, epic plans for ENDracing’s future, and only hoping to reconnect with some friends and enjoy a more ‘mild’ Christmas.  But one thing has led to another and we’ve made the very hard decision not to return and to try and make a proper go of living here.  

The decision was extremely difficult.  North Dakota had been good for us, and good to us, too.  We’d connected closely with an awesome group of people and made friends with hundreds and hundreds of racers, sharing the bond of like-mindedness and a love of challenge.  I’d been lucky enough to follow my passion and share it with all of you.  But on return to NZ we realized we had strong ties here too and ultimately it is the right time to let these relationships flourish.

So what does this mean for ENDracing?  Thankfully, not much.  The organization is alive and well and, thankfully, bigger than just me.  All races will go ahead as scheduled under a great management team, many of whom have been a part of things since the get go.  These guys and gals have spent time on both sides of things--they all started out as racers too, but since have collectively been involved either as racer, staff, or volunteer in every single event we’ve produced.  And I’ll still be giving lots of help to the folks back in ND to make sure things run smoothly and the races live up to their reputation for being, well...ENDracing events.  

But you can do something too!  ENDracing is a community effort--it is really an organization of service.  We come up with and host these events to provide testing grounds and places to meet up with and share adventures with others in the very small group of adventure junkies out there.  We serve you.  ENDracing’s success is your success, and is dependent upon your support.  So although I won’t be behind the microphone talking to you about the days coming challenges, you better keep coming out!  In truth, ENDracing belongs to the community--if you’ve raced with us you are part of that community.  It will thrive and bring it’s challenges to you as long as you want it to--as long as you keep making it to the startline, keeping bringing your friends, and keep volunteering when you are able. 

So here’s to the changing of the guard.  Here’s to ENDracing’s generation two.  Here’s to another great year.  Race hard everyone!

Andy is still doing all sorts of things, just in a different part of the world.  You can follow along and contact him through on his website, UltraMentalBook.com.