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Courser Racing offers veterans healing and connection through ocean rowing experiences.

07/08/2026

Chris Farrington is a retired US Army Green Beret with 21 years of service. His time included multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. His military career shaped a lifelong commitment to leadership, service, resilience, and supporting fellow veterans.

Above every title or accomplishment, Chris is a devoted husband and proud father of three. His family remains the foundation behind everything he does and the driving force behind his continued pursuit of purpose, growth, and meaningful service.

In 2025, Chris rowed across the Pacific Ocean and now serves as Director of Operations for Courser Racing. As the organization prepares for its Atlantic 2027 campaign, he helps lead its mission to challenge, connect, and empower veterans through shared hardship and extraordinary adventure.

07/06/2026

Jere Hartman serves as a board member of Courser Racing, where he helps guide the organization’s mission, strategy, and growth as it prepares for elite endurance challenges and veteran-focused initiatives.

A former U.S. Army Ranger, Jere brings a wealth of leadership experience and a deep commitment to resilience, discipline, and service. After his military career, he transitioned into coaching and veteran advocacy, working as a CrossFit coach and using his background to support others in overcoming adversity.

In 2025, he completed a 2,800-mile Mid-Pacific row from Monterey, California, to Kauai, Hawaii, demonstrating the power of shared hardship and intentional struggle. As part of Courser Racing’s Atlantic 2027 crew, he continues to play a key role in preparing for the World’s Toughest Row — a 3,000-mile unsupported race from La Gomera, Spain, to Antigua — while supporting the organization’s broader vision and impact.

07/03/2026

Derrek Root and family.
Derrek deployed to Sadr City, Iraq, in 2005 as an Infantryman with the 3rd Infantry Division. He came home a veteran, but like many who have served, finding his way back to himself and into a strong sense of community was not easy.

That struggle is personal to Derrek. It is also what drives him.

Courser Racing’s mission to rebuild identity, restore community, and show veterans that they are still capable of extraordinary things pulled Derrek toward something he had been missing. In this team, he found the same belonging, purpose, and shared hardship the military once provided, something many veterans lose when they return home.

Before the ocean, Derrek found that purpose in the mountains. He has summited Mount Kilimanjaro and completed numerous fourteeners across the Rockies, each climb a reminder that the drive forged in service does not disappear. It simply needs a new mission.

With the unwavering support of his wife, Ashley, and as the father of three sons, Daniel, Carson, and Alex, Derrek is raising the next generation of adventurers, young men who understand that hard things are worth doing.

Rowing the Atlantic is the next mission. But for Derrek, crossing an ocean has never been the point.

Ending veteran su***de is.

07/01/2026

Michael “Mike” Meador and family. Mike is a dedicated husband to Lisa, his wife of 20 years, and a proud father to their three children: Eva, Ace, and Vera. Grounded by faith, strengthened by family, and renewed by the outdoors, Mike carries those values into every part of his life and service.
Mike is a recently retired CW4 U.S. Army Aviator whose 20-year career was defined by leadership, precision, and sacrifice. As a Senior Instructor Pilot with more than 7,000 flight hours, he flew Apache, Black Hawk, and Huron aircraft and deployed in support of missions in Iraq and Egypt.
After being medically grounded and told he would never fly Army aircraft again, Mike was forced to take a knee and redirect his purpose. Instead of allowing that moment to define him, he leaned deeper into his faith, family, and the outdoors. Today, Mike brings that same resilience, focus, and selfless commitment to Courser Racing’s 2027 Atlantic Team as they prepare to take on The World’s Toughest Row.

06/30/2026

Dwight “Doc” Arceneaux & Family Hey, I’m Dwight “Doc” Arceneaux, a proud Cajun from Church Point, Louisiana. My wife Kelli Brown Arceneaux and I are raising six amazing kids — Joshua, Gabriel, Benjamin, Jonah, Noah, and Elah — on our Arceneaux Farms LLC, a 100% veteran-owned family operation on Bayou Plaquemine Brule.
We’re outdoorsmen, fishermen, farmers, ranchers, and dairy producers through and through. We raise free-range pork, beef, poultry, waterfowl, eggs, and raw milk while honoring our multi-generational Acadiana roots in rice, crawfish, and cattle. Life is all about hard work, family, good food, and staying true to the land.
Excited to bring that Cajun grit and resilience to Courser Racing and The Worlds Toughest Row Atlantic 2027 challenge.

06/26/2026

This photo is where it all began.

Before there was an Atlantic team, there was a conversation on a dock in Pensacola.

A weekend of rowing brought together a group of veterans who had never imagined they’d one day be preparing to cross an ocean. Over those few days, friendships were built, trust was earned, and something bigger started to take shape.

Today, we’re proud to announce our Atlantic 2027 Team:

🚣 Mike Meador
🚣 Derrek Root
🚣 Dwight Arceneaux

After watching them row, lead, and support one another, skipper Chris Farrington and first mate Jere Hartman knew they had found the right crew to take on the 3,000-mile Atlantic crossing.

The next year will demand everything they have—training, education, fundraising, sacrifice, and commitment. But that’s exactly what this journey is about.

This isn’t just an ocean crossing. It’s about proving what’s possible when veterans continue to challenge themselves and each other.

Next week, we’ll introduce you to each member of the team and share the story that brought them here.

This is only the beginning.

05/05/2026

This past weekend, your support made it possible for three veterans to step into one of the toughest environments on earth—an open ocean rowboat.

What came out of it wasn’t just miles traveled.
It was trust. Brotherhood. And community built through adversity.

Address

Pensacola, FL

Telephone

+19103095911

Website

http://www.courserracing.org/, https://donorbox.org/courser-racing-team

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