On Sunday morning, I woke up early (at 9am!) to go cheer for a friend who was swimming in a race. Not an ordinary race, though…it was EnviroSport‘s Swim with the Sharks event. Participants swam a mile and a half, from Alcatraz Island to shore, in the open waters of the frigid San Francisco bay. It was a huge event; apart from the swimmers, there were at least a few thousand spectators in the stands. It was a blast.

Kieran was the star of the show, though, so I’ll let him describe it in his own words.

I finished the Alcatraz swim this morning, all limbs intact.

I was advised not to look back at Alcatraz and keep looking forward. I was the last one into the water, out of 800. We spread out quickly and since I didn’t really pass anyone for most of the swim I assumed I was in last place. In fact I was so concerned that I hadn’t passed anyone I was afraid I was going to get pulled out of the water for being too slow. Every time one of the 50 or so Kayak rustlers got close I was afraid it was them telling me I wasn’t going to qualify.

As it turned out, fear is a great motivator and it got me across the bay quickly. Once I got to the entrance of the Aquatic Park I could see all the other swimmers yellow caps against retaining walls. I kicked it into high gear to try to catch up to them.

I finished in just under an hour, which was faster than expected. When I got out of the water I turned around and saw a sea of yellow caps. People kept coming in for the next 30 minutes. I felt great and warm in the hot sun.

Cheers, Kieran