Summertime Swim

Now that it’s summertime in Wisconsin and the last of the ice on our lakes has finally melted, you may have the urge to do some swimming. If that’s the case, you’ve got a long way to go to catch Melodee Liegl of Delafield.

This mother of three is a solo marathon swimmer who, as of June 7th, has already swum 868 miles this year. She does her winter training in a pool but makes a move to open water in June.

For those of us who topped out at Advanced Beginner in swim class, that number is positively staggering. According to our exhaustive internet research, that is how far it is from Milwaukee to Dover, Delaware. Which is a 14-hour drive and sounds exhausting enough on its own.

A marathon swim is classified as any swim over 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles. This may not seem that impressive compared to a marathon on land, but then you remember you’d probably be on your way to Davy Jones’s locker in the first 100 meters.

Perhaps Melodee’s example has inspired you to dive in to do some lake swimming this weekend. For those looking for a sensible alternative, we suggest sitting on the shore with a cocktail.