Race reports · 2026 · by Jay
Waikiki Roughwater Swim 2026: two and a half hours into the current
Just under 4 km that felt like 8, about 80 swimmers pulled or past the cutoff, and the two of us still swimming at 2:27 by our watches because we didn't quit.
This year's Roughwater was one of the most difficult swims I have ever done in my life, and I want to get that down while it's still fresh.
What we were told at the start
We got to Kaimana Beach and the organizers were already talking about the current. It was going to be running against us from the start all the way to the finish at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and the announcer put it plainly: the swim is just under 4 km, but today it's going to feel like 8. I've heard a lot of pre-race announcements over the years and usually they're some version of have fun and be safe, so this one got my attention. He turned out to be 100 percent correct.
The swim
We swam into that current at an absolute slow crawl the entire way. There was no stretch where it eased up and let us make up time, just the same effort for the same small amount of progress, buoy after buoy. The water itself was clear, and the wildlife along the way was spectacular to look at, which is the strange part of a day like this: you're being held to a crawl and you can still see everything below you. The waves and the current were rough the whole time, and by my watch it took us almost an entire hour longer to cover the course than it did last year, when the two of us swam it together in an hour and a half.
Somewhere along the way we picked up our friend Jake, and from there it was the three of us, checking on each other and keeping each other moving toward the Hilton. The escorts were out in force: boats, kayaks, and people on surfboards, and they were busy. About 80 swimmers either got pulled from the water or didn't make the 2 hour and 40 minute cutoff.
For me it was 2:27:09. Michelle came in at 2:27:07, a couple of seconds ahead, which she'll be happy to point out. The official results haven't been posted yet, so those are our own watches for now, and the card will get the timing company's numbers when they're up.
What I took from it
What I keep coming back to is that, faced with that current and those odds, Michelle and I did not quit. We didn't give up on it partway through, and we pushed all the way to the finish on our own, with thirteen minutes to spare on the cutoff and a friend alongside. It also came with a useful fact attached, which is that we now know we can swim for two and a half hours straight without stopping, a number I didn't have before this weekend and one that matters for the kind of racing we do. Last year's swim was the fast one, and this one's the one I'll remember.