Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 94 is my conversation with Mike Dunlap of Barefoot Adventures, an avid paddler preparing to race the Everglades Challenge — a roughly 1,500-mile paddle event that starts in the Florida Panhandle, runs down the Gulf Coast to Key West, around the southernmost point, and up to Jacksonville. Mike walks through his race strategy, his two-person boat crew and two-person truck support team, the pre-planned stops along the route, and why the race goes off on April 2 no matter what the weather is doing.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Press play in the player above to watch.
The Everglades Challenge is a roughly 1,500-mile paddle race that starts from the Florida Panhandle on April 2, runs down the Gulf Coast to Key West, around the southernmost point of Florida, and ends in Jacksonville. The race goes off regardless of weather conditions, and the first team to reach the finish line wins.
Mike Dunlap is the founder of Barefoot Adventures and an experienced paddler competing in the Everglades Challenge. He has organized a strategic race approach built around a two-person boat crew and a two-person truck support team, with pre-planned stops along the route.
The Everglades Challenge covers approximately 1,500 miles, starting from the Florida Panhandle, going down the Gulf Coast to Key West, around the southernmost point of Florida, and ending in Jacksonville on the Atlantic coast.
The Everglades Challenge starts on April 2 at a designated time. Once organizers signal the start, all teams launch regardless of the weather conditions on that day.
Mike Dunlap uses a two-person boat crew to handle the paddling and a two-person truck crew to manage logistics, pre-planned stops, and resupply along the 1,500-mile route through Florida.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 94 with Mike Dunlap is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
Mike is doing the kind of thing most people would never even consider. Racing roughly 1,500 miles around the entire coastline of Florida is not a bucket-list weekend; it is a serious endurance event that demands physical conditioning, route planning, and a tolerance for whatever the weather decides to do.
What got me interested was how matter-of-factly Mike talks about it. He has a boat crew, a truck crew, a route mapped, and a plan for stops, and he describes the whole operation the way most of us describe a long fishing trip. I wanted him to walk me through how you actually prepare for something like this.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the whole conversation in his own words.
Mike describes an event where you get the signal to start and you are committed, no matter what is happening overhead. Teams launch from the Panhandle and race the coastline of Florida to Jacksonville, and conditions dictate everything. There is no postponing for a bad forecast. The distance alone is staggering, but the part that stuck with me is the mental side of committing to launch regardless of what nature has planned. Listen to Mike explain how he gets his head right for that.
This is the part I found fascinating. Mike is not going solo — he has a two-person boat crew handling the paddling and a two-person truck crew managing support along the route. Coordinating stops, supplies, and communication across roughly 1,500 miles of Florida coastline is its own discipline. Mike has pre-planned the stops, which means mapping the entire route and picking strategic points for resupply and rest. Hear how he built the logistics in the episode.
Mike emphasizes a hard reality: whatever weather is happening when they say go on April 2 is what competitors face. No waiting for ideal conditions, no postponement for storms. You can train your body, dial in your gear, and perfect your navigation, but you cannot control what the day delivers. The ability to commit to launching anyway is what separates this event from races where a safety cancellation is on the table. Listen to that section.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
Mike's company, Barefoot Adventures, is built around paddling and outdoor pursuits, and his passion for being on the water comes through the whole conversation. He is not treating the Everglades Challenge as a one-time stunt; this is someone who has built his life around paddle sports and understands what it takes to cover serious distance. The way he talks about reading conditions and managing a support crew reveals years of experience. Press play to hear it.
What stays with me about talking to Mike is the commitment the Everglades Challenge demands when you know weather will not decide whether the race happens. You either prepare for the worst case and go, or you do not enter.
The logistics are the part I keep thinking about. A two-person boat crew and a two-person truck crew, a mapped route, strategic stops — none of that can be improvised. It all has to be dialed in before April 2 rolls around.
Press play in the player above, or grab the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Barefoot Adventures · Everglades Challenge · Florida Panhandle · Key West · Jacksonville · Gulf Coast
Mike Dunlap is the founder of Barefoot Adventures and an experienced paddler who competed in the Everglades Challenge, a roughly 1,500-mile paddle race around the Florida coast from the Panhandle to Jacksonville. He organized a race strategy built around a two-person boat crew and a two-person truck support team, with pre-planned stops along the route, reflecting his understanding of Florida's coastal waters and the logistics required for multi-day endurance paddle events.
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