8 Bridges Marathon Swim
People often look at endurance athletes with their heads cocked to the side and a bewildered look on their faces filled with questions like, “what on earth would make someone push their bodies through undoubtedly grueling circumstances for an extended duration, by their own choice?” The answer to that question may not be a simple one. In fact, regardless of sport, personal background or demographics, what’s at the core of an endurance athlete’s drive to do what they do, is unique to each person. One characteristic that they all seem to share, however, is competitive drive. Whether or not that competitiveness presents as an external force comparing one’s performance to someone else’s, or an internal motivation to push past one’s own personal best, the characteristic seems to be a prerequisite for endurance participants.
On Thursday, June, 20th, I had the pleasure of joining the crew of Launch 5 who provided support for the swimmers participating in the 8 Bridges Marathon Swim. For me personally, it was an educational and inspirational experience. As a distance runner, I can liken this event to something like an ultra marathon running race, where athletes complete stages in consecutive days for a set amount of time. However, this sport and in particular this event, takes “extreme” to a whole new level. There are so many elements and changing conditions that the swimmers and their crews must contend with, especially in the Hudson River. Navigating currents, understanding and timing swims in accordance to the changing tides and avoiding hazardous flotsam and jetsam that are emblematic of the murky river waters, require tremendous coordination between swimmers and support crew, thereby making this swimming event very much a team sport.
What happens in the mind and the body of the swimmer who endures these conditions for hours upon hours is nothing less than monumental. To say that these athletes must be well conditioned and mentally tough is a colossal understatement. In order to engage and persevere in an activity such as this, a consistent balance of psychophysiology must be maintained. In anyone, a stress response to anxious thoughts, for example, releases certain chemicals in our bodies that cause heart rates to increase, blood pressure to rise, breathing to quicken and muscles to tighten. Therefore, it is crucial for these athletes to have an enormous capacity to mentally manage the challenges of their sport for extreme amounts of time in the face of physical and mental fatigue.
These swimmers, are most definitely, a special breed. Everyone who I had the pleasure of meeting were highly intelligent, warm and humble about the special gifts that they clearly possessed and moreover, shared a tight bond with their fellow swimmers, as well as their support crew. It was special day for me to be a fly on the wall at such an event. I strongly encourage people to follow and support this sport and it’s athletes at every opportunity. It’s not glamorous. It’s not flashy and it definitely doesn’t receive the publicity it deserves. However, marathon swimming promises no less than to leave an impression that will endure for a long
