Stories from the Water

Send us Fan Mail I had to prod International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree, Liz Fry, several times before she finally agreed to be our guest on Marathon Swim Stories. What a treat it was to hear her tell tales from her nearly 2 decade long career. The oldest person to complete the Oceans Seven, and the only person to ever double all of the lakes in the 4 day, 41 mile SCAR swim challenge -...

Send us Fan Mail 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 listen to this!  My bio: I grew up frequenting neighborhood...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 after many years of travelling. In 201...

Send us Fan Mail 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 a tree on a...

Send us Fan Mail 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 cold, giving it all you've got...

Send us Fan Mail 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 to sustain lions m...

Send us Fan Mail 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 swimming...

Send us Fan Mail 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 mi...

Send us Fan Mail 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 the English Channel, a record that she he...

Send us Fan Mail 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 the outcome, resetting expec...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories with Charlotte Brynn, her love of adventure and swimming exudes as we discuss growing up in New Zealand, ending up in the ICU, losing your kayaker, how to choose a crew, "giving it a crack" and so much more! In her own words: A native of New Zealand, I was born for adventure, growing up, New Zealand’s scenic lakes, rugged mountain...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I chat with Michelle Macy about being your authentic self, not finishing what you set out to do, losing the joy, granny swimming, and so much more! From macyswim.com: My parents have always told me that I could swim long before I could walk.  I would terrify the lifeguards by launching myself from the diving board at the age of 2 and swimm...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I chat with Courtney Moates Paulk. We talk about feeling like a poser at marathon swim events, no such thing as a DNF, enjoying the journey, and so much more! In her own words: Courtney Paulk is an ultra-distance open water marathon swimmer from Richmond, Virginia. She is the first (and only) person to have completed the Triple Crown of Op...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories with four-way English Channel crosser Sarah Thomas we talk about making the leap from the pool straight to marathon distance (10K) open water, impromptu training swims, pushing through, and so much more! In her own words: Sarah Thomas, 38, is an ultra-marathon swimmer who holds the current world record for the longest continuous, unassisted...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we chat with renowned open water, marathon, and ice swimmer Lynne Cox. Lynne holds over 50 firsts and world-records and is a New York Times best-selling author and motivational speaker. We attempted to cover all of the bases in our conversation. From lynnecox.com: Lynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer, motivational speak...

Send us Fan Mail In my conversation with Graeme Schlachter, we talk about swimming the English Channel to sort out back issues, working out when and how you want, being outcome driven and so much more! In his own words: 12 years ago was the start of my incredible journey that was to change my life and me as a person. It all started with, at the time, I thought was a very silly idea to help sort ou...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we chat with marathon, ice swimmer, and world record holder Jaimie Monahan. We talk about swimming all over the world, yoga for mental flexibility, trusting the process, and so much more! In her own words: Jaimie Monahan is a Guinness World Record holding ultramarathon and ice swimmer from New York City who has enjoyed open water swimming o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories with Martha Wood we talk about reacquainting yourself with the water after 15 years, life preparing you for marathons, training your kayaker, and so much more! This is how Martha described herself on her 20 bridges application: Martha Wood grew up in New Hampshire immersed in a life as a competitive swimmer.  She swam on the swim team and p...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, John Gale talks about being a late onset swimmer, enjoying cold water, swimming in Ireland, and so much more! In his own words: I describe myself as an adult-onset swimmer as I started swimming in my late 40s after a knee injury due to a fall sidelined my distance running career. After my doctor advised me to take up another sport or risk...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I speak with Elizabeth Almond about denial, punching the water, accidentally swimming the Triple Crown in 84 days, and so much more! In her own words: My name is Elizabeth Almond and I live in Atlanta, GA. I have lived other places, but native Atlantan which is quite rare these days. I graduated Emory University in 1996. I did not swim in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we chat with Colleen Blair about being practically born swimming to a family of swimmers, facing your demons, swimming a mile and a half in 5 hours, and so much more! In her own modest words: I have been swimming outdoors for 35 years, swims include the North Channel, North Minch, SCAR (x2), Loch Ness If you'd like to be a guest on Mar...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories we talked to long time marathon swimmer Kris Rutford about the process, being committing to your commitment, how the same swim can always be different, and much more! In his own words: I have been swimming my entire life.  It is really the only sport I have ever participated in.   I swam for the University of Nebraska 1977-1981 as a sprinte...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, we hear from Kellie Latimer. We talk about swamped kayaks, embracing the process, the realities of living in a COVID-19 hot spot and so much more! In her own words: Kellie learned how to swim in the chilly waters of Casco Bay, Maine. After 15 years competing in the pool and a brief detour into the world of triathlon, she discovered maratho...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, I chat with Cindy Werhane about finding yourself in your swims, falling apart after pushing through hard times, tough responsibilities during trying times, and so much more! In her own words: Cindy identifies as an Oregon swimmer despite growing up in the Midwest. She swims to explore, both the physical world and her internal selves. She e...