“When it comes down to it, I just like to go swimming. I like the physical motion itself: all my muscles coordinating together to contract and release in perfect time with one another, like a dance. One muscle tenses while the opposing one relaxes and around and around my arms go, while my legs beat out a steady rhythm…“
So writes Jessica Kieras, PhD of Bend, Oregon about her 81.4 km swim across Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan in 29 hours 38 minutes.**
Dr. Kieras has done some gnarly long, rough water swims (see here on the Marathon Swimmers Federation LongSwims database*), but it is her pure joy, her unadulterated passion, and her descriptive writing style that are even more impressive and inherently inspirational. She does not swimming for money or fame, for sponsors or media exposure, for recognition or records (although those come as a result of her efforts). She simply swims, inspiring others along the way to also get out and enjoy our open water world.
Read her first-hand story of traversing Traverse Bay on her blog here.
* Dr. Kieras’ marathon swims and channel crossings include:
- 122 km Lower Colorado River in 24 hours 4 minutes
- 32.3 km Catalina Channel in 11 hour 7 minutes
- 41.5 km Lake Billy Chinook in 13 hours 14 minutes
- 34.2 km Lake Tahoe in 12 hours 18 minutes
- 20.8 Waldo Lake in 6 hours 54 minutes
- 30.6 km Santa Barbara Channel in 9 hours 26 minutes
- 19.6 km Anacapa Channel in 7 hours 8 minutes
- 18.6 km Around Coronado Island in 4 hours 28 minutes
- 33.5 km English Channel in 10 hours 21 minutes
- 63.8 km California Channel Islands in 24 hours 7 minutes
- 54 km Santa Barbara Channel loop around Anacapa Island in 20 hours 36 minutes
- 17 km Portland Bridge Swim (three times) in 5 hours 17 minutes + 4 hours 42 minutes +4 hours 39 minutes
- 58 km END-WET in 10 hours 49 minutes
- 10 km Applegate Lake Swim (three times) in 2 hours 47 minutes + 2 hours 40 minutes + 2 hours 33 minutes
- SCAR Swim: 13.3 km in 3 hours 18 minutes + 14.1 km in 3 hours 0 minutes + 22.8 km in 5 hours 36 minutes + 10 km in 2 hours 48 minutes
** Evan Morrison has compiled the longest swims by distance on the LongSwims database here.
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