An Endurance Swim "Race for the Ages"

Experience vs Youth.

Once a year, 74-year-old fitness enthusiast, Skip Hause, challenges a fellow swimmer to a half mile swim.  This year he invited 14-year-old, Vera Rivard.  The race was held on Friday September 7, 2018 at Lake Sunapee, NH from Skip’s Sunapee harbor home across the Lake to Dewey Beach.  

Skip will have a 14-minute head start.

Proceeds for this event go to benefit Vera’s invitation to travel to the Cork Swim Week camp in July 2019 in Sandycove Island, Ireland, a tiny island off the south coast of Ireland.  The camp focuses on training the invited swimmers to swim the English Channel.

Skip’s Bio. He is 74 years young and a lifetime Fitness Guru and Hogan Member at Coby-Sawyer College in New London, NH.  He has 5 years of Mitt boxing training.  He is an accomplished Open Water swimmer, years of pool swimming, a runner, and skier.

Vera’s bio is equally impressive. She is 14 years old and a Hogan member.  She swims for the Upper Valley Aquatic Club (UVAC), and is on the Kearsarge High School swim team. She has completed in many open water endurance events, and her accomplishments include a second place in the July 2018 25 mile (16 hours) Lake Memphremagog swim.

Outdoor Steve’s Involvement

Skip called and ask if I would document and produce a video of this event. I clarified to Skip that my videos on my Outdoor Enthusiast Blog https://outdooradventurers.blogspot.com are produced to motivate individuals and families to get outdoors.  Skip had viewed many of my blog posts and assured me he wanted me to do a video with interviews to share the experience of this fun happening.

As an amateur triathlete I certainly have some insights to endurance swimming and training, and I would bring this perspective for interviews with the two athletes in this challenge. I interviewed Skip, Vera, Darcie (Vera’s Mom), and Kevin (Vera's Dad).

Will experience win the day?  Will youth prevail?

The first video is 30 minutes and introduces you to Skip, Vera and Vera's family through interviews and learning of Vera's cold water endurance swims.  Feel the friendly competition race as seen from my kayak. Learn of Vera's July 2019 "invitation only" to the Cork Distance Week camp fund raiser, and Vera's vision of swimming the English Channel.


The Second video is 7 minutes and is a summary of the swim with minimal detail.


Cork Distance Week Camp

It is the toughest amateur marathon swim training in the world – with the fewest “frills”. By invitation only… References below provide more insight to the Cork Distance Week Camp.

Send Donations to benefit Vera’s Cork Swim Week Travel Fund
Make checks payable to Vera Rivard. 

Vera Rivard
PO Box 413
Springfield, NH 03284

Documented Marathon Swims by Vera Rivard

Support Vera in her Never say, "I wish I had ... trained to swim the English Channel".

Note by Editor: On September 1, 2020 Vera Rivard Swims Solo Across English Channel

Vera Rivard Swims Solo Across English Channel at Age 16

References

Sandycove Island Web Book
https://sandycovewebbook.wordpress.com/cork-distance-week/

Dangerous When Wet: Learning to Survive Open Water Swimming
https://www.outsideonline.com/1916336/dangerous-when-wet-learning-survive-open-water-swimming?page=1

Documented Marathon Swims by Vera Rivard
https://db.marathonswimmers.org/p/vera-rivard/

List of successful English Channel Swimmers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_successful_English_Channel_swimmers

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