Quebecers love Marathon Swimming!

Each year during their week long summer festivities in July, they set aside $30,000 to invite 'The Best in the World' to participate in the main event, which is the Traversee International du Lac Memphremagog or Magog Marathon. One is made to wonder, what is so special about July? Well, in Quebec there are only two seasons: winter and July. So any excuse is good to catch all the rays you can get for a year!

There are two swimming days during this week long festival, the 42 km swim on Saturday, followed by the Sunday events, the 15, 5, 3 and 1 km races. You don't have to sign up ahead of time for the 1-5 km races, you just show up.

Lake Memphremagog is a long (26 mile) and narrow lake straddling the US and Canada. Scenic Canadian mountains and the US countryside of northern Vermont surround it. At its southernmost point is Newport Vt., a quaint, typical New England town, and at its opposite end is Magog, Canada, a bustling, French Canadian resort town.

My race took place on Sunday. This year the Canadian Swimming Federation chose the 15 km race as their National Championship. The course is 7.5 km south towards the Canadian-US border and back to Magog. We headed straight into the wind, which produced an incredible surf buildup and constant waves crashing for about three quarters of the way. The field was composed of young swimmers from ages 14 to mid 20. There were 15 spots reserved for Canadian competitors including men and women, I was delighted and privileged to participate in a separate category as a 16th swimmer. The water felt comfortable, in the low 70s Fahrenheit. No wet suits are allowed and only one cap is permitted. The water was sweet and pure, and I drank a fair amount of it during the race; however the lack of salinity made it non-buoyant and colder to the body. A more vigorous effort is required under those circumstances.

We were provided, as on the previous day for all Marathon participants, with a powerboat and a driver. (A rowboat or kayak would have been useless in these conditions!) I was fortunate to have Nancy, my wife, to help me with feedings and support. She also used her binoculars to help navigate the course. I held 14th place in the field until almost half way when another female swimmer passed me. A sixteen-year-old girl was behind me most of the time, but could not endure past the halfway point. I felt sad when she gave up, because I knew it would get easier once we turned around. I was tired after the first half, which took about two and a half hours. The return felt easy because the wind from behind pushed me. A Police escort boat followed behind me to prevent other craft intruding on the course. It helped cut the surf and simplified swimming. The return took only two hours.

Jokingly, I told my boat driver (who was quite skillful and supportive) that I was worried that the Police boat had caught up with me and was chasing me because they thought I was "another wetback" trying to get into Canada. He did not understand my reference or connections to the Rio Grande and Mexico.

After the race was over, I was called to the awards platform and given a special award. I was pleased to find that the 15 km. Canadian National Champion, David Chisolm, from Sudbury came in around three hours and six minutes. The winner of the Woman's Championship, Maxime Mentha, came in around three hours and twenty minutes. I was very happy to finish, and four and a half hours seemed like a great time, because I thought this event was even more challenging than the 12.5 mile Key West swim in many respects.

I was congratulated by organizers and officials whose kindness and affability made this a very enjoyable experience. Their hospitality was touching and they made me feel like a "celebrity". A local official and spectator who was very appreciative said that he didn't think anyone my age could do this! I guess we found out.