We did it! The Half-Marathon and the Super Swim were great successes. The first event was the Half-Marathon which took place on Saturday. After getting up at 5:00 in the morning, the supporters, consisting of the swimmers and faculty, each went to their respective spots along the 13.1 mile run. I was cheering the runners on at the 1.5 mile mark, and because the run was an out and back, I was able to see everybody at the very beginning and then as they were finishing. We gave each runner water, grapefruit, and plenty of screaming and shouting to keep them going. Maybe I went a bit overboard with my cheering. I did feel a bit sorry when I was screaming in their faces and jumping up and down as the exhausted runners began their final stretch. But all in all it was amazing to see the runners accomplish their big event after training so hard for it. Congratulations to all runners! “You is my hero” (words on the support sign I held up as they passed).

The next day, Sunday, was the Super Swim. Fortunately, we were able to sleep in until 8:00 and have something to eat before the four-mile swim. Everybody was excited and ready to go by the time we got to Sunset Beach for the start. We were all ready with our neon swim caps on, lubed up with Vaseline, and in the water when the horn went off, signaling the start. The swim was much harder than I expected. There was a lot of navigating through jellyfish (not the stingy kind), and towards the two-mile mark at the Cobia, I was starving. And so that first bite of grapefruit I had after the two miles was a glorious moment in the swim. After refueling, I jumped back in the water, navigated through the jellyfish, avoided an encounter with a friendly shark, and somehow made it back to SunsetBeach. It all sounds so easy, but the swim was one of the hardest things I’ve done. When I got out of the water I was (a little dizzy) so proud of myself and relieved that I had finished. Thanks to all the supporters that came out to cheer us on, especially to Taylor, who gave me a banana towards the end and saved my life.