Woolley to Swim Across Lakes
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
And with her sister, Mariah, taking part in this summer’s MasterWorks Festival at Grace College, she had that reason — to help raise funds for the festival.
Beginning at 6 a.m. on May 26, Woolley will enter Lake Wawasee at the fish station on the south side of the lake.
From there, Woolley will cross the state’s largest natural lake, then enter the channel to Syracuse Lake and will eventually end her journey at Syracuse Lake Park.
“Looking at Google maps, it’s a little over six miles,” Woolley said about the length of her swim.
The Syracuse resident has been swimming competitively since she was 4 and actually swam the exact route as her May 26 trek as part of a relay three years ago.
“A few years ago I was on a relay team that alternated swimmers and we swam the same route I'm doing,” she said about swimming with her Kosciusko Community YMCA team. “But we didn't swim very long. We swam about 15 minutes a piece, then alternated.”
Now, she’ll be alone in the water, but there will be friendly faces around, as her friends will be in kayaks with her father following in a boat.
“We're going to have two kayaks going with me,” she said about the safety precautions being taken. “I'll probably have my dad with me and some of my lifeguard friends.”
Woolley says she began getting really into open-water swimming last summer, finishing first in the Aqua Mile at Center Lake in Warsaw.
She’s also swam the 5K at the Indiana State Open Water Championships last summer, finishing in an hour-and-a-half.
However, with her latest endeavour being almost twice as long as a 5K, she knows what lies ahead.
“It's going to be a long swim,” she said.
“I'm excited, but I'm also really nervous,” she added. “I've been training and my shoulders are really hurting right now. It's going to be a really long and cold swim.”
Despite her trepidations, she doesn’t plan to back down.
“It's just something I've always wanted to do,” she said.
In order to donate to the MasterWorks Festival, donors may do so at www.masterworksfestival.org[[In-content Ad]]
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And with her sister, Mariah, taking part in this summer’s MasterWorks Festival at Grace College, she had that reason — to help raise funds for the festival.
Beginning at 6 a.m. on May 26, Woolley will enter Lake Wawasee at the fish station on the south side of the lake.
From there, Woolley will cross the state’s largest natural lake, then enter the channel to Syracuse Lake and will eventually end her journey at Syracuse Lake Park.
“Looking at Google maps, it’s a little over six miles,” Woolley said about the length of her swim.
The Syracuse resident has been swimming competitively since she was 4 and actually swam the exact route as her May 26 trek as part of a relay three years ago.
“A few years ago I was on a relay team that alternated swimmers and we swam the same route I'm doing,” she said about swimming with her Kosciusko Community YMCA team. “But we didn't swim very long. We swam about 15 minutes a piece, then alternated.”
Now, she’ll be alone in the water, but there will be friendly faces around, as her friends will be in kayaks with her father following in a boat.
“We're going to have two kayaks going with me,” she said about the safety precautions being taken. “I'll probably have my dad with me and some of my lifeguard friends.”
Woolley says she began getting really into open-water swimming last summer, finishing first in the Aqua Mile at Center Lake in Warsaw.
She’s also swam the 5K at the Indiana State Open Water Championships last summer, finishing in an hour-and-a-half.
However, with her latest endeavour being almost twice as long as a 5K, she knows what lies ahead.
“It's going to be a long swim,” she said.
“I'm excited, but I'm also really nervous,” she added. “I've been training and my shoulders are really hurting right now. It's going to be a really long and cold swim.”
Despite her trepidations, she doesn’t plan to back down.
“It's just something I've always wanted to do,” she said.
In order to donate to the MasterWorks Festival, donors may do so at www.masterworksfestival.org[[In-content Ad]]
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