A Bellingham real estate agent is attempting to break a world record in endurance athletics this Friday night to raise money for the Bellingham Food Bank, combining what has become an annual tradition with the most ambitious challenge of the series yet.
What Ethan Hunger Is Attempting
Ethan Hunger is launching his sixth annual Hunger vs. Hunger fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday, July 24 at Bloedel Donovan Park in Bellingham. The goal is to complete more super-sprint triathlons in a 24-hour period than anyone has ever done before. The current world record is 54 super-sprint triathlons in 24 hours. Hunger and his training partner Ian Steger, who works for Triathlete magazine, are aiming to complete 72, which would shatter the existing record by a margin of 18 repetitions.
A super-sprint triathlon is the shortest official triathlon distance recognized by governing sports bodies, consisting of a quarter-mile swim, a 10-kilometer bike ride of about 6.2 miles, and a 2.5-kilometer run of roughly 1.55 miles. At the pace Hunger and Steger are targeting, that means completing one super-sprint every 20 minutes, continuously, for a full day and night without stopping. The math involved is staggering. The swim portion alone, repeated 72 times, would total 18 miles in open water. The cycling would cover nearly 450 miles of pedaling. The running legs would add up to more than 111 miles of accumulated mileage. Any one of those totals individually would be a significant athletic feat; doing all three interleaved in a 24-hour window is an order of magnitude harder.
The event starts and finishes at Bloedel Donovan Park on Lake Whatcom, using the park's designated swimming area for the open-water portion of each super-sprint. The bike and run legs will follow a set course in the surrounding area. The format is repetitive by design, allowing the athletes to move through each discipline in sequence without the logistical complexity of a point-to-point course. Supporters are encouraged to come out to watch at any point during the 24-hour attempt, and the nature of the event means there will always be something to observe regardless of what hour you arrive.
How the Fundraising Works
Every year, Hunger has used the event to raise money for the Bellingham Food Bank, one of Whatcom County's most relied-upon hunger relief organizations. This year's goal is $500,000, his largest target yet and a significant escalation from prior years. The food bank serves thousands of Whatcom County households each year across its distribution operations, and demand has remained elevated since the COVID-19 period pushed more families into food insecurity and supply chain disruptions affected the availability of donated goods.
The idea for the world record attempt came from Steger, who came across an article about the existing record and immediately sent it to Hunger. "The second he sent that over, I called him back and said, 'This is it, let's do it,'" Hunger told KGMI radio. The two trained together for the attempt across the months leading up to the event, building the specific endurance profile that repeated triathlon segments demand, which is different from training for a single long-distance event. Steger will be running the challenge alongside Hunger throughout the full 24-hour window rather than serving as a support crew member, meaning the record attempt requires both athletes to sustain elite-level output simultaneously.
Donations can be made online through the event's fundraising page, and additional information on how to contribute is available through KGMI radio's coverage of the event. Hunger is well known in Bellingham's business and civic community and has used his platform as a real estate professional to draw donors and sponsors to the food bank effort across all five previous years of the event.
Why Bloedel Donovan and What to Expect
Bloedel Donovan Park, located on the north shore of Lake Whatcom at 2214 Electric Avenue, is one of Bellingham's most popular summer parks. It features a sandy beach, a designated swim area with lifeguard coverage during regular park hours, picnic facilities, and parking, making it a natural venue for a multi-discipline athletic event that requires water access alongside land-based course segments. Lake Whatcom water temperatures in late July are typically at their warmest for the year, sitting in the mid-60s Fahrenheit, which reduces the thermal stress of repeated swims compared to earlier in the season.
For spectators, a 24-hour world record attempt offers a genuinely unusual viewing experience. Unlike a single race with a defined finish line moment, the repetitive format means you can drop in at almost any hour across the full day and watch Hunger and Steger actively moving through one of the three disciplines. The middle-of-the-night hours, roughly midnight through 4 a.m., tend to be the mentally and physically most demanding portion of ultra-endurance events, when sleep deprivation compounds muscular fatigue and motivation becomes as important as physical condition. Having supporters present and vocal during those stretches can make a measurable difference for athletes attempting something at this level.
To donate to the Bellingham Food Bank through the Hunger vs. Hunger campaign or to learn more about volunteering with the food bank beyond this weekend, visit bellinghamfoodbank.org. The food bank's regular operations at 1824 Ellis Street in Bellingham run Monday through Saturday, and the organization welcomes both financial support and volunteer time year-round, not only during high-profile fundraising weekends.
