Ready, set, go! Over the course of the past few days, we have continuously heard the word ‘run-swim,’ yet we had no idea what this actually entailed. Half of us got to experience this for the first time this morning. The other half of us got to work on SCUBA diving skills. That day those who started SCUBA week set up their kits, and took off for our various dive sites. At these places, we practiced many different skills and most of us went on our first actual dive! Meanwhile back on campus, we started our run-swim around the flagpole and took off from Boathouse Cut and ran/swam all the way to the marina. We finished by going back across Boathouse Cut after shouting a message to our friends working in the Boathouse. We were immensely proud of ourselves and all of our friends. As each one of us finished, everyone cheered for their first successful run-swim, which the staff said, “was one of the best first run-swims we (they) had ever witnessed.”

The most emotional moment of the whole ordeal was the wall climb. As we neared the 14-foot wall, we expected the process to climb over it to be nearly impossible after having ran/swam and having done copious amounts of core work.  However, as everyone began to pull him or herself up, we realized that we were not only overcoming a physical barrier, but a mental one as well. No one knew that they were capable of scaling such an obstacle, so it was inspiring to see our friends go over before us.

What we have realized is that with the help of others and your own mental focus, you can do anything, except swim without a buddy!

Your caciques,

Fotis and Amy