Finding balance. Making waves.
845 boards. One world record. June 12.
I'm Hudson. I'm 14. I stand up to food allergies every single day, by eating the thing that could kill me to teach my body not to. It's a balancing act, and it's scary. The one place it isn't scary is on a paddleboard. So this summer I'm getting as many people as I can out on the water to break a world record, raise money so other kids can get the treatment I got, and make some noise about a disease most people can't even see.
I was little. Someone handed me a peanut butter cookie at a party.
Nobody used an EpiPen. Nobody called an ambulance. My parents put me in the car and drove.
I threw up the whole way there.
I spent the next four days in the ICU.
What that day did to me, after
Here is the part I never told many people. That car seat sat in our basement for months while my parents tried to clean it. Every time I walked past it, I was back in the car.
That is what a food allergy really is. It is not the list of foods you can't eat. It is the fear that comes after, the thing in the basement you keep walking past.
Then I started training. I eat the thing that could kill me. On purpose. A little more every time, climbing toward something called food freedom.
The top is food freedom. But it's narrow, like the edge of Half Dome. One slip and it's anaphylaxis. So every single day, I balance.
Balancing up on that mountain every day is exactly why a paddleboard feels easy.
Fall off a board and you just get wet. Slip on the mountain and it's an emergency.
Out here, the scary part disappears. The water is the one place I get to just stand up.
"Stand up" has meant three things my whole life.
On June 12, I get to do all three at once.
So I'm getting a ton of people out on the water.
845 of us. Kids, parents, neighbors. The whole lake turned teal, the color that means safe. We make some noise about a disease most people can't even see, raise money so families who can't afford the treatment can get it, and push toward a cure for everyone with food allergies.
Why a world record? Because it's big and a little crazy, and that's how you get hundreds of people to show up on the same morning. The record is 844. We need 845. One more than anyone's ever done. Plus, breaking a world record is just cool.
Where we paddle.
Minneapolis Chain of Lakes · Saturday, June 12, 2027. Park on the streets, walk a block, launch from one of four spots, and meet us on Lake of the Isles to loop Mike's Island as one continuous parade.
- 1
Cedar Lake — South & Point Beaches
Park on nearby streets. Paddle the canal into Lake of the Isles.
- 2
Lake of the Isles — east shore
Park on East/West Isles streets. Launch straight into the loop.
- 3
Bde Maka Ska — North Beach (W Lake St)
Park on nearby streets. Paddle the canal into Lake of the Isles.
- 4
Bde Maka Ska — 32nd Street
Park on W 31st–34th. Paddle the canal into Lake of the Isles.
You'll get your assigned launch, arrival window, and parking streets in your confirmation email. Hennepin County Sheriff Water Patrol and support craft on the water. PFDs required.
This is bigger than one kid on one board.
American kids has a food allergy. That's about two kids in every classroom, on every team, at every birthday party.
Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone in the US to the emergency room.
Cures exist today. But treatments are pushing the ball up the mountain for thousands of kids right now, and research needs fuel.
$25 a board. Here's exactly where it goes.
We think fundraisers should show their work. So here's ours, right on the homepage. Hudson picked where the money goes himself.
Add fundraising pages, donations, and sponsors and the goal is $25,000. What that kind of money does:
Impact figures are estimates and will be finalized with our partners before launch. Every dollar in and out gets published after the event. Can't paddle? Donations without a board are 100% welcome and 100% of the same math.
Three ways onto the water
Bring your board
You own a SUP? You're the backbone of this record. Your $25 goes straight into the math above.
- Official board number + wristband
- Teal flag for every allergy kid who wants to fly one
- Paddle clubs: group registration, bring your whole crew
Borrow one
No board, no problem. We're reserving rental fleets across the Twin Cities for the morning.
- $25 registration + $50 board and paddle
- Board waiting for you at the beach, wheel-carts to get it to the water
- Limited supply: first claimed, first floated
Fuel a board
Can't paddle that day? You can still be part of the record's why.
- $25 sponsors a kid's board, with your name riding the rail
- Straight donations welcome, no board required
- Companies: put your logo on a fleet of 10, 25, or 50
Stand up for a kid, at any level.
Every tier goes straight to helping kids with food allergies, split across Children's Minnesota, FARE research, and the Teal Pumpkin Project. Pick the one that feels right.
Claim Your Spot
Twenty-five dollars puts one paddler on the water toward 845 and goes straight to helping kids with food allergies. Be one of the 845.
Borrow a Board and a Paddle
Covers a paddler who needs to borrow a board and paddle from us to join on the water.
Donate a 2-Pack of EpiPens
Provides enough funding for a two-pack of EpiPens that could save a child's life during an emergency and helps support ongoing food allergy research.
Train a School
Helps train school staff to recognize a serious allergic reaction and respond during the critical minutes when every second matters.
Fuel the Research
Supports food allergy research and patient care programs that are helping improve the lives of children living with food allergies.
Donate 10 Boards
Provides stand-up paddleboards for participants who want to Stand Up to Food Allergies and join the event but cannot afford the equipment, while also supporting food allergy research.
Guinness World Records Validation
Covers the official Guinness World Records validation costs, helping certify the record attempt and increase awareness of food allergies on a global scale.
Stand Up Your Way
Give what feels right. Every dollar stands up for a child with food allergies.
The fine print, minus the fine
Do I need to be an experienced paddler?
If you can kneel or stand on a board and move forward slowly, you're in. The parade moves at conversation pace, life jackets are required, and safety boats ring the whole fleet. Falling in is allowed. Standing back up is the whole brand.
What does it cost?
$25 to register with your own board, $75 if you need to borrow one ($25 registration + $50 rental). Every registration dollar goes into the published math: 845 × $25 = $21,125 before a single donation.
What world record is this, exactly?
The Guinness World Record for the largest parade of stand up paddleboards, set in Vladivostok, Russia in 2017 at 844 boards. No American city has held it. We're going for 845 on the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes.
What counts for the record?
845 or more stand up paddleboards moving together in one continuous parade, counted on site by an official Guinness adjudicator with a drone count. Every paddler gets an official board number. We'll know we did it before we're back on shore.
What's the victory loop?
When the record falls, every board circles the island together, paddles up, a slow ring of teal. Pack in, pack out, we leave the water exactly as we found it.
Do you leave the lake clean?
Yes. Pack-in, pack-out. No on-site sales, no single-use giveaways, nothing dropped on the water. Every paddler carries out what they carry in, and we leave the lake exactly as we found it.
What if the weather is bad?
If the lake says no on Saturday, we go Sunday, June 13, same time, same beach, same board number. Registered paddlers get the call by text and email by 6:00 pm Friday.
Is the event food-allergy safe?
Yes. The shore village is top-9-allergen-aware, every vendor labels everything, and medical staff with epinephrine are stationed on shore and on the water. This is the one event where the allergy kid is the most normal kid there.
Can I just donate without paddling?
Absolutely. Donations without a board count just the same, split across Children's Minnesota, FARE research, and the Teal Pumpkin Project, and they show up in the same public accounting after the event.
Claim your board
Saturday, June 12 · launch 8:30 am · Cedar Lake, Bde Maka Ska + Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis. $25 with your own board. Your zone gets assigned when you register. Be a number in the history books.
Scan to claim your board
Registration confirms your spot and opens your personal fundraising page.
You'll get your official board number by email. Allergy kids: ask for your teal flag.