LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Rain greeted Lake Geneva Saturday morning, but it didn’t stop dozens of competitors from taking on a unique mail-delivery challenge on the water.
Red Bull Rush Delivery returned to Lake Geneva on Sept. 19 for its second year, bringing about 40 runners together to compete in a high-speed twist on the area’s historic mailboat tradition.
The event draws inspiration from the U.S. Mailboat Walworth, which has delivered mail to shoreline homes for more than a century. Instead of simply handing off letters, competitors had to leap from a moving boat, deliver mail to temporary mailboxes along the docks and make it back aboard.
A rainy start to a high-flying day
Despite the wet conditions early Saturday, the competition went on. Crews worked to dry the docks, while competitors prepared for a race that required speed, timing and a steady landing.
Among the returning athletes were Milwaukee-area parkour athlete Hero DW and Latvian parkour star Pasha Petkuns.
For Hero, the original mail jumpers inspired him to return to showcase his skills in entertainment and parkour to the event.
“One girl mentioned that she had to run half a mile to deliver a 30 pound package after jumping off the boat. How is that even possible?” Hero said. “How you gonna jump off a boat, run half a mile? We have to run like maybe 15 steps and deliver it and then make it back to the boat. That’s so easy. But like what they have to do versus what we have to do, the only difference is that we’re televised. They’re not. So I’d say this is a lot easier than what the actual mail jumpers have to go through.”
Pasha also returned for the second year, with the competition expanding to include more parkour challenges and obstacles.
“Not that many people know about this place. It’s beautiful,” Petkuns said. “Me being from Latvia now, I live in California, so this is completely different scenery to me. The fact that, like, it’s a real thing. Like, people deliver on the boat, it’s pretty cool.”
He also noted that this year’s event featured more parkour challenges, obstacles on the course and actual mail packages.
A tradition with a competitive twist
While the athletes focused on their jumps, Captain Ray Ames and the crew of the Walworth helped keep the operation moving safely.
The boat needs to maintain forward motion to steer and maneuver along the shoreline. That becomes especially important when competitors are jumping between the boat and docks.
The race itself tested more than just athletic ability. Competitors had to jump from the boat, sprint to a mailbox, deliver the mail and return to the boat. Missing a jump or landing in the water meant elimination.
Captain Ames says there is a distinct difference between the competition and the actual mail boat delivery workers throughout the summer.
“Our jumpers during the mailboat season have to be fast enough. And it’s more about getting onto the boat cleanly, gently, not slamming into the boat,” Captain Ames said. “For the people in the competition, that might cost them some time. It might cost them the competition. But our people, if they go crashing into the side of the boat, it’s going to cost them being selected for that job.”
The fastest 12 runners advanced to the finals, where the course added lake-life obstacles and a more challenging delivery that included picking up outgoing mail.
When the competition wrapped up, Sean Flannery claimed the men’s title in 10.75 seconds. Jora Phillips won the women’s competition in 12.88 seconds.
A Beaver Dam competitor takes his shot
Not everyone made it to the finals, but the day still meant plenty to competitors like Peyton Clapper of Beaver Dam.
With his father, Terry, watching from the sidelines, Clapper took on the challenge of jumping from the boat and making the delivery.
Reflecting on his run, Clapper said, “My jump was alright. I wish I would have pushed off a little better.”
“Watching previous runners go before me definitely helped. The obstacle for me was trying to open the mailbox more than anything. Getting back on the boat is a little of an optical illusion, but once you figure it out, you just gotta beat your own self at that point,” Clapper said.
Though he didn’t advance to the final round, Clapper got to experience the unusual competition firsthand with his dad there to cheer him on.
As the rain gave way to a day of jumps, splashes and fast deliveries, Lake Geneva’s century-old mailboat tradition had a new chapter: one measured not just in letters delivered, but in seconds on the clock.
