Swim-A-Mile for Women with Cancer, 2013

Well, I did it again...for the 16th year!

I did the annual Swim-A-Mile for Women with Cancer, a fundraiser for the Women's Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) in Oakland, California. This year it was on October 5 & 6.

Harriet & Janet shared a lane with me. This is Harriet's 7th Swim-A-Mile and Janet's first. Janet is a cancer survivor who is going strong...for the past 5 swims she's cheered Harriet and me on. But this year, she took the plunge and swam with us.



Janet and I even wore matching glittery swim suits.

This year, 586 people (women, men, children can all do the swim) swam in the course of two days. The event is at Mills College in their beautiful pool.

I swam in Honor of 32 people and in Memory of 26 people, all of whom have a special connection to those who sponsored me in the swim.  We swimmers post their names on a big bulletin board by the pool.



I'm proud to say that I have raised, so far, nearly $3900 for WCRC.  My part of swimming 72 lengths of the pool (1800 yards) is nothing compared to the generosity of friends, family, and colleagues who continue to sponsor my swim.  I truly appreciate it and am gratified that we are able to help WCRC continue to provide the FREE services that it continues to offer to women with cancer.

Collectively, WCRC has raised more than $350,000 to date from the swim.

WCRC Development Manager, Christine Sinnott, and Executive Director , Peggy McGuire, continued to smile and provide inspiration to we swimmers throughout the weekend.

Both Harriet and Janet finished their swim proud and smiling!

And, when I arrived, friends Pat and Judi were already celebrating the end of Pat's swim.

The pool remained filled with swimmers all day long. More than 140 volunteers made the weekend a success.

After we swam, it was time for lunch.  There is always tasty food for all throughout the day.

Since the weather was exceptionally warm and clear, we relaxed on the lawn while enjoying our lunch and just taking it all in.

And, yes, we did go back for seconds!!!

Harriet and Janet certainly looked like pinup girls, for those of you who remember pinup girls!!!

WCRC is accepting donations for the Swim-A-Mile until the end of November.  If you wish to sponsor me, you can do so on the WCRC website.  Just type in my name and it will lead you to my Profile page.

Looking forward to Swim-A-Mile 2014! The dates are October 4 & 5, 2014.