Contributed by Jessica Stokes, NEM-CRM & NELMSC Board Member
BOSTON, MA -- At 8:57 AM on January 6, 2019, the atmosphere at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool was electric as nearly 150 swimmers prepared to start the 100 x 100 Memorial Marathon Swim. Participants swam in twenty lanes arranged by interval, ranging from 1:15 to 2:20 per 100. As swimmers paced themselves back and forth, music pulsed, MC Rick Osterberg provided periodic play-by-play updates, and the scoreboard kept track of intervals and counted repetitions. Volunteers cheered swimmers from the pool deck and kept them hydrated with Heed Sports Drinks and Hammer Gels provided by Hammer Nutrition. “This year, we had the largest turnout we’ve ever had and the greatest number of swimmers who completed all 100 swims,” said Event Director and CRA Masters Head Coach Chris Schenck. “All profits from the swim were donated to the Smith College Scholarship Fund in memory of one of my predecessors, Marly Pineda.” As swimmers at each interval completed their 100 repetitions, lane members selected an MVP, who won a water bottle provided by Swim With A Mission. No matter how many repetitions they completed, every swimmer left with a commemorative event cap and t-shirt provided by TYR and Streamline Events. Schenck reports that next year, the event will be expanded to two facilities, Blodgett Pool and the new CRA facility, Wellesley Sports Center, which is slated to open in the spring of 2019.