Marathon swimmers come from all walks of life. Some start as tots, others find their passion midlife. Whether you’re a seasoned marathon swimmer, aspiring, or just intrigued, something can be learned from the stories of these remarkable endurance athletes.
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, Elaine Howley interviewed me! It’s easy to see why I prefer to be the interviewer as listen to myself struggle to find words and endure the play by play of my swimming history, and while the fear of messing up my kids is real, it isn’t as paralyzing as it sounds when you […]
Prior to the 4th of July weekend, I spent my Friday afternoon chatting with Marathon Swimmers Federation 2019 Barra Award nominee, John Batchelder. We relaxed into the interview just like John relaxes into his distance butterfly and touched on swimming for weight loss, how John became “butterfly man”, being motivated by others and finding ways to reciprocate that support. In […]
On Canada Day Jessi Harewicz joined us from her home beach and talked to us about thinking marathon swimmers are crazy, shedding the wetsuit, allowing yourself to fall in love with the water again and the freedom of swimming from home your home beach. In her own words: Born and raised in Vancouver British Columbia I got into marathon swimming […]
This stormy Knoxville morning, we chatted with the founder of Bridges to Bluffs, Knoxville Open Water Swimmers, and marathon swimmer himself, Blaik Ogle. Quick to dismiss his accomplishments, Blaik focused the conversation on building community in Knoxville, but I got him to tell us a little bit about tackling the cold, not taking no for an answer, and getting stuck […]
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I spoke with a marathon swimmer from Berlin, Germany, who loves swimming with friends and being out in nature. Matthias Kassner, graciously spent part of his Friday evening with me to chat about his adventures as he pursues the Oceans Seven. We talk about not feeling much after a big swim, overcoming the […]
In this episode we were inspired by a remarkable woman who has attempted a double of the North Channel, not once, but twice! Caroline Block, started marathon swimming just five years ago and has honed an impressive resume, including 4 successful crossings of the North Channel. We talk about equal access, being a conservative swimmer, having a super human ability […]
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, we spoke to Paula Yankauskas, an endurance swimmer, veterinarian, and new grandmother. After completing the Catalina Channel in 2018, Paula became the third oldest individual to complete a Triple Crown – though she doesn’t focus on her age, she’s happy to motivate people to swim into their senior years! We talk about how […]
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I chat with the cofounder of the Marathon Swimmers Federation and creator of LongSwims Database and track.rs, Evan Morrison. In February 2020, Evan became the first person to swim San Francisco’s Round Trip Angle Island swim in winter, with temp in the low 50’s, for nearly 9 hours. We talk about putting everything out of your mind, finding […]
In this episode of marathon swim stories we had a delightful conversation with an ice and marathon swimmer from the West Highlands of Scotland. Morag Hughes schools us in how to say loch correctly and shares tales of spending the last two decades swimming the tarns and loches of Scotland. In 2010 she became the oldest female to swim across […]
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we chat with an adventure addicted cyclist and Ironman triathlete who taught herself how to swim. Kristin Valentine completed her first marathon swim event in 2019 when she swam 9 miles across Lake Massawippi as part of the Northeast Kingdom Swim Week in far northern Vermont. We laugh about not being attached to […]