Two Bend, Oregon endurance athletes have set a new speed record on the Willamette River, proving that preparation and grit can take you the distance—150 miles, to be exact.

Chelsey Magness and Daniel Staudigel paddled nonstop from Eugene to West Linn in a two-person kayak, covering 150.4 miles in just 17 hours and 44 minutes this past April. That's an average speed of nearly 8.5 miles per hour, a blistering pace for any paddler. The duo launched at dawn and reached Bernert Landing shortly after midnight, completing the route without any stops or outside support.

The Willamette River flows north for approximately 187 miles, starting south of Eugene and emptying into the Columbia River. While previous attempts on the Eugene-to-West Linn stretch took between 24 and 30 hours, those efforts included breaks and didn't involve pushing through the night. Magness and Staudigel's unsupported, nonstop journey shattered those benchmarks.

"There's been other attempts, but it's never been fully unsupported or nonstop," Magness said. Staudigel added that while others had recorded faster times, they included stops and didn't require the mental and physical endurance of paddling through darkness.

This record-breaking feat wasn't just about setting a new mark—it was training for the Yukon 1000, a 1,000-mile paddle race from Canada to Alaska often called the world's longest. Magness and Staudigel plan to compete in the race this July. Staudigel, who knows the Yukon well, said the Willamette was ideal preparation. "This was absolutely perfect training," he noted. "I could not imagine better training."

Staudigel is no stranger to the Yukon 1000. He and teammate Jason Magness—Chelsey's husband—currently hold the race record, finishing in five days, 11 hours, and 48 minutes in 2022. The pair also won the Washington 360, a 360-mile race in Puget Sound, in 2021. Now, Staudigel and Chelsey Magness will team up for the first time in the Yukon 1000, a race that demands competitors carry all their own food, camping gear, and supplies through remote wilderness.

Whether you're training for an epic race or just love the water, stories like these remind us that the right gear and determination can help you go the distance.