Marathon Swim Stories
Shannon House Keegan
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Top 10 Marathon Swim Stories Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Marathon Swim Stories episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Marathon Swim Stories for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Marathon Swim Stories episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Melinda Menzer's Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
08/04/20 • 43 min
Lately I've spent some time with my kids looking at a globe, "if you fly over it, can you see the border?" they ask.
No. These are lines drawn by man. Man argues, wars, and discriminates over lines, I tell them.
As today's guest, Melinda Menzer says, "you can't fence in the water", and she loves swimming across those silly lines that are drawn on maps. To demonstrate the fluidity of borders, Melinda swam from the US to Mexico and back last year, in the process raising over $10,000 for HIAS, the world's oldest refugee agency.
I loved hearing Melinda's story for so many reasons, I hope you do to - please enjoy this episode!
In her own words: Melinda Menzer is a long-distance open water swimmer and the swimmer behind Swim for HIAS, a project to raise money and awareness for HIAS, the world's oldest refugee agency. Melinda began swimming as a child but picked up open water swimming as an adult in 2011. She has swum some of the major American events, including Swim the Suck and SCAR. A few years ago, she decided to put her love for swimming to work for her commitment to the United States' historic role as a sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers. In November 2019, she swam 10.2 miles across Amistad Reservoir on the Texas/Mexico border, crossing from the U.S. to Mexico and back; she raised over $10,000 for HIAS while making real the idea that borders are fluid. She is inspired by other great swimmers such as Lynne Cox and Yusra Mardini, who have swum across borders to bring people together in freedom.
If you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Paula Yankaukas' Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
06/23/20 • 32 min
In this episode of Marathon Swim Stories, we spoke to Paula Yankauskas, an endurance swimmer, veterinarian, and new grandmother. After completing the Catalina Channel in 2018, Paula became the third oldest individual to complete a Triple Crown - though she doesn't focus on her age, she's happy to motivate people to swim into their senior years! We talk about how swimming keeps you fit, meeting kindred swim spirits all over the world, and when someone "thinks you can" swim across the English Channel - so you do.
In her own words: Paula Yankauskas grew up in central Connecticut and always loved the water – the summer she turned 11, the City of New Britain opened its outdoor municipal pools – four 25 meter pools, and one 50 meter pool – spread out over different city neighborhoods. In the East End of New Britain, the home pool for those residents was Chesley Pool, and it was there that Paula spent nearly all daylight summer hours for the next five years. When she turned 16, she was eligible to work for New Britain Parks & Recreation; at Chesley, there was only an opening for locker attendant. Paula worked it for a short time; when the lifeguard Captain of Stanley Pool (the 50 meter facility) asked if she’d consider joining their Lifeguard roster; all loyalty to the “neighborhood” vanished, and she took the job at the rival pool Stanley, taking on coaching the swim team as well as teaching swimming (WSI - babies to adults) in addition to Lifeguard duties.
Paula is now a Vermont Swimmer – she first came to Vermont for college in 1972; attending UVM for undergraduate work (she was on the swim team for 7 semesters) and put in 1 year toward a Masters’ degree in Physics before getting into veterinary school. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia in 1981.
Central to Paula’s focus are 3 things: LVVS, family, and swimming, and not necessarily in that order (the attention devoted to each varies on a daily basis). LVVS and family took over for the 20 years between education and the 2001 opening of The Swimming Hole in Stowe; but once she had a pool to stretch out in, she was set to return to swimming and has not looked back. To top it all off, the Green River Reservoir State Park is in Paula’s home town of Hyde Park, Vermont - it is a “quiet” body of water (no power boats), so ideally suited for open water swimming.
She founded Lamoille Valley Veterinary Services (LVVS), in 1985 as a mixed animal practice and over the years it has evolved into a 5 doctor, full-service facility for small animals, mostly cats and dogs. Paula’s current focus is on behavioral and emotional health of dogs and cats.
An endurance athlete, Paula has at times held titles for age – she was formerly the oldest person on record to have swum the length of Lake Memphremagog - September 2014, 25 miles, at 60 years. And currently, for the third oldest (average age) for the Triple Crown of open water swimming, having completed the English Channel in 2016 at 62, the Manhattan Island Marathon in 2017 at 63, and the Catalina Channel in 2018 at 64. She does think the age thing gets a little “old” at times, but is happy to motivate people to swim into their senior years, or even get started then.
If you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License:
Joep Buijs' Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
04/29/22 • 46 min
Find personal bio, pictures, and more at http://marathonswimstories.com
Marathon Swim Stories is produced by Maxi Frini: https://www.maxifrini.com/
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive, worldwide, group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Kim Garbarino's Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
10/21/21 • 64 min
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Marathon Swim Stories is produced by Katee Meese: https://www.kateemeese.com/
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Phil White's Marathon Swim Organizing Story
Marathon Swim Stories
01/11/21 • 57 min
Have you heard of Kingdom Swim? Imagine a blissful summer day in late July in the far reaches of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The weekend kicks off with a swimmer and pet parade and a pasta feed. There's a 1 mile swim. When you're ready you can go a little further out into the lake for a 3 miles swim, or check off your first marathon with a 6 mile swim! Jump up to 10 miles of open lake. Or bust the border to get 25 km under your belt. This is what Phil calls the ladder, it's where my marathon swim journey started...
Culminating with a search for a lake monster, as a swimmer scouting the length of the Lake Memphremagog for Memphre. Or perhaps the culmination is swimming across and back? There has been a few doubles!
In out interview today, my former neighbor on Sunset Acres, Phil White, tells how he got started by trying to save the local pool and in the process fell in love with open water swimmers.
In his own words: I was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on June 28, 1948
Education: 1966: HS, Phillips Academy Andover; 1974 BS Columbia University; 1978: JD Georgetown University Law Center.
In my younger days, I worked as a carpenter, a carriage driver in Central Park, a casino cashier in Athens, Greece, and as a Research Assistant at Columbia Geology Dept, UVM, Georgetown, and the Federal Judicial Center. In the 1980s I served as Orleans County State’s Attorney, and was a trial attorney for over three decades after that. I was married for 19 years and raised two kids. I was a youth soccer coach for many years.
I am a dedicated downhill skier, runner/jogger, boater, and water rat. During the 1980s I was an avid windsurfer. I’ve loved hiking and camping and playing softball and soccer. During the past 40 years, I’ve boated on Lake Memphremagog in all conditions, fair weather and foul, day and night, drunk and sober.
I started The Games in 2007 to help raise money for our local recreation center and pool that was in extreme financial distress. When the center closed in 2013, I started a small business, Kingdom Games, to organize, host and promote outdoor running, biking, swimming and ice skating events. We are based on Neuman’s Own, with any net profits dedicated to local charitable events.
Over the last decade, open water swimming in the Northeast Kingdom has blossomed. Here’s the chronology:
2009 Kingdom Swim
2010 Willoughby Swim
2011 In Search of Memphre
2012 Caspian Swim
2013 NEK Swim Week
2014 The Great Skate
2015 US Winter Swimming Championship
2016 Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival
2020 Saturday Clubhous Swim Series
In 2021 we will be hosting 25 days of open water swimming: Kingdom Swim (1), NEK Swim Week (8), In Search of Memphre (7), and the Saturday Clubhous Swim Series (9)
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Suzanne Heim-Bowen's Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
01/10/21 • 62 min
Today's guest has been marathon swimming for the last 4 decades! I was fortunate to run into Suzanne Heim during one of my online events. Can you believe that she jumped on What is marathon swimming q&a call - just to connect? It was fun to collaborate and point aspiring marathon swimmers in the right direction. As you can imagine, she has more than a few stories to tell, this is just an overview!
In her own words: As a youngster I swam summer league and competed in AAU competitions. At 14, I quit swimming to play boys water polo and run cross country. I helped start the Women’s Swim Team at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California. Fearful of the ocean due to a near drowning accident at age 5, I never stepped foot in the ocean until I was 18 years old.
Many swimmers spend their youth focusing on pool swims and later turn to open water swims. For me, it was the opposite. At 19, I joined the San Francisco Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club and completed solo marathon swims as well as racing 25k open water swims as part of the USA National Team. For the next 15 years many of the solo marathon swims were first person swims in San Francisco Bay and several set open water speed records. I then returned to USMS Pool swimming with the focus on pool racing setting World Records. One of the highlights of my pool swim career, since I still had college eligibility left, was being recruited by the Diablo Valley Community College coach as a distance swimmer at age 50! This was a lot of fun and resulted in a documentary titled, '50 Year Old Freshman'. I returned to marathon solo swimming in 2014 swimming around Manhattan Island—something I had always wanted to do. I was hooked and became inspired by my South End Rowing and Dolphin Club buddies who were training for incredible marathon swims--Michele Squyer, Cathy Harrington, Raine Pierce, just to name a few. Seeing them spend time in the water kept me motivated and in 2019 I completed a Round Trip Angel Island and Catalina swim and in 2020 the Length of Lake Tahoe.
However, swimming is not my number one passion! It is education of individuals with special needs. Throughout my youth I volunteered in high school to support my peers with special needs, was an assistant in a special education class and an educational therapist while working on my first Master’s degree. I received my teaching credentials and taught for 7 years before a year on scholarship at the University of Auckland . I returned from New Zealand and enrolled in another Master’s program and became a school psychologist/licensed educational psychologist for students with special needs, specifically: medically fragile, severe behavior disorder, intellectually delayed, autistic. Most recently I was working with youth who were incarcerated: significant mental health needs and post traumatic stress and trauma issues. Thankfully, no matter what was happening in my life, the water was always there to provide peace and whatever happened during the day I could turn off the ‘noise’ and focus on swimming and then return to my work with renewed energy. I continue to be dedicated to supporting youth with special needs even though ‘retired'. I participate on the Juvenile Justice Commission and am an Educational Surrogate/Advocate for youth. My two passions share a symbiotic relationship helping me to be successful in both areas.
If you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
Welcome to Season 2!
Marathon Swim Stories
01/08/21 • 8 min
Find out what to look forward to in Season 2 and vote Marathon Swim Stories for World of Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year!
https://openwaterswimming.com/contestants/marathon-swim-stories/
Thank you so much for being part of my journey, for listening, watching, or joining Marathon Swim Stories, and thank you to each and everyone of you who have shared your story so far.
Stay tuned to find out how to sign up for premium content! And let me know if you want to sponsor Marathon Swim Stories: mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Sue Phillips' Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
12/01/20 • 48 min
My guest today is fellow Oregonian Sue Phillips. While Sue assured me that her story was not that interesting, she kept coming up with stories... I fondly remember playing leap frog with her in Lake Massawippi last year, but that was just the beginning... she's lost her kayaker around Lido Key, ridden the waves in the Chesapeake, and swam the width in Tahoe during a pandemic. Everyone has a story. I hope you enjoy Sue's!
In her own words: Sue is a middle-aged swimmer, camper, scientist-civil servant, mother, trail runner and beginner rower. She has no stand-out achievements in any of these defining activities, although her 17 year-old daughter is pretty dang cool, she's supported some extremely important conservation science, and is purported to be quite a good swim companion. Swimming and supporting other swimmers are where she finds her greatest joy, particularly if she can do these things while camping, She's not swum terribly far or in any extraordinary conditions, although she's found all attempts to date to pile on distance and adversity to be quite fun, and is regularly and incrementally pushing limits in both.
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Lori King's Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
11/25/20 • 47 min
Today I spoke with the first woman to swim around the island of Bermuda, Lori King. Upon rediscovering her love of swimming later is life, Lori tried to politely decline an invitation to swim in the open water, strongly preferring the pool. Needless to say, she eventually found her rhythm and got over her fears. There's quite a bit of mom chat in this episode. About how hard it can be, but also how having kids mentally trains you to get through the tough parts of marathon swimming. Once you get to the start line, all you have to do is swim. I hope you enjoy this episode.
In her own words: Lori King grew up in Norristown Pennsylvania and started swimming competitively by age 5. In college, she swam Division I for La Salle University. After college, she temporarily fell away from swimming, moved to New York City, married and had two children. She began a career as a research analyst for the Visiting Nurse Service Research Center, which eventually led her to earn a Masters of Public Health, from Columbia University (2010).
As her career progressed, she felt something was missing in her life and returned to swimming in 2004. In 2006, she was introduced to open water swimming and her lifelong passion evolved. In 2010, she competed in her 1st open water event, followed rapidly, by 6 and 12-mile open water swims, in Bermuda and Key West, respectively.
While trying to juggle family life and swimming, she has since competed in numerous open water marathon events, such as the Catalina channel swim, the Manhattan Island swim, the 120-mile 8 Bridges Hudson River Staged Swim, Capri-Napoli, Ibiza Marathon swim, & Kalamata Greece swim to name a few.
On June 15-16, 2016, Lori became the first woman (second person) to successful swim the 36.5 miles around the island of Bermuda in just over 21 hours.
In December of 2016 Lori was awarded the Global Marathon Swimmer Yudovin Award for most adventurous swim by the Marathon Swimmers Federation for her Bermuda swim. Lori has used her swimming to speak to swim teams and organizations aimed at empowering girls and was featured on “heroes on our Island” television news segment.
Settled in Long Island, New York, family comes first for Lori but with their support she is able to live her dreams and reach her goals one swim at a time.
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me! mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
Lyn Goldsmith's Marathon Swim Story
Marathon Swim Stories
09/15/20 • 46 min
In this exemplary episode of Marathon Swim Stories I chatted with Lyn Goldsmith - at 50 she decided to start kayaking. She loved supporting marathon swimmers as the trekked around Manhattan. While a lifelong water lover, she never considered swimming herself until a transformative experience swimming in a lake in Maine in her 60's.
She tells us about her journey over the last 5 years, from her first open water swim against a stiff current where after swimming alone for some time a support boat notified her that she hadn't quite made it to the start buoy yet, to cold hamburgers after her finishing her first 10K in Bermuda, and reliving parts of her life as she swam down the East River around Manhattan.
I call it an exemplary episode because I love Lyn's Marathon Swim Story. Sure, I love hearing from world record holders, swimming pioneers, and record setting swimmers, but there is something magic about hearing from the people who find joy purely in swimming and being grateful to finish a marathon.
In her own words: Though I kayaked for swimmers going around Manhattan for about a decade, and always knew how to swim, I didn’t start swimming for love, or thinking about my stroke, until I was 62. I’ve been slowly increasing my distance and time in the open water because it’s my happy place.
Questions, comments, feedback, or if you'd like to be a guest on Marathon Swim Stories, email me: mailto:[email protected]
Stay in touch by joining our email list at http://intrepidwater.com
Join a supportive group of limit pushers at The Marathon Swimming Collective
Music credit:
Epic Inspiration by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5447-epic-inspiration-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Swimming sounds courtesy of swimmer Todd Lantry.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Marathon Swim Stories have?
Marathon Swim Stories currently has 174 episodes available.
What topics does Marathon Swim Stories cover?
The podcast is about Swimming, Podcasts, Self-Improvement, Education and Sports.
What is the most popular episode on Marathon Swim Stories?
The episode title 'Daniel Adcock-Kirsh's Marathon Swim Story' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Marathon Swim Stories?
The average episode length on Marathon Swim Stories is 47 minutes.
How often are episodes of Marathon Swim Stories released?
Episodes of Marathon Swim Stories are typically released every 5 days, 20 hours.
When was the first episode of Marathon Swim Stories?
The first episode of Marathon Swim Stories was released on Apr 2, 2020.
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