BY JENNY YARBOROUGH
It Takes Two
Local athletes bring European partner race SwimRun to North Carolina
WHEN we hear the phrase “island hopping,” we tend to think there must be some sort of boat involved. Perhaps a
cruise ship or locally, we might imagine cruising from island to island in a simple watercraft like a jon boat or a
Carolina Skiff.
But in this case, there is no boat. There are no Jimmy Buffett or Kenny Chesney tunes blaring from Bluetooth
speakers. There are shoes. And neoprene shirts.
Speaking of shoes, Kristen Jeno’s have holes in them; not from wearing them thin, although she certainly runs enough to do so.
Jeno drilled holes into a perfectly good pair of Hokas because in this type of island hopping, there are rocks and sticks and mud. And
in these types of elements, everything gets wet and anything goes, so she engineers her own.
Jennifer Devers, left, and Bridget Phillips pause for a team photo at the top of Moore’s Wall in Hanging Rock State Park during the 2017 SwimRun
NC, the pair’s first SwimRun event.
april 2021 24
WBM
COURTESY OF JENNIFER DEVERS