The River is Calling: TGARR 2027 Is On

Stop talking. Start wrenching.

The Great American River Race returns August 7, 2027, with the gun at 9:00 AM Central from Harriet Island in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The window closes eight days later. Whatever is still floating by then has finished.

What has not changed

$5,000. That is the whole boat — acquisition and preparation, every part, including the ones that were free, donated, or already in your garage. Required safety equipment is exempt, and that exemption is not a loophole.

192 hours. The clock starts at the launch and does not stop. Not for weather, not for a blown lower unit, not for sleep. Cross the line late and you are recorded as a DNF.

1,565 miles. Down the Mississippi, upstream on the Ohio, across to the Tennessee, through the Tenn-Tom, and out into Mobile Bay to finish at Dauphin Island.

What you should do now

Applications are open on this site. The form asks about your team, your boat, your budget and your experience — the experience answers matter more than the boat does.

After that, go find the boat. The build always takes longer than anyone plans for, and the crews who do well are the ones who had time to break things in a parking lot instead of on the Ohio.

Build smart. Run hard. Respect the river.