“Why On Earth Would You Do a 4 Mile Swim Race?”

Your fear of sharks is quickly erased by the brutal sting of a jellyfish. “Are you sure they’ve checked the water?” I said to the official, scratching my head with concern. A middle aged, bumbling, brown-haired man, who looked allergic to water, beamed a dismissive smile and nodded, “Sure have. It’s a green light, amigo.” I curled my toes in the white sand and looked down at two dead jellyfish. I could see straight through their bodies, and into the sand beneath them. I wasn’t convinced. Jellyfish rarely travel alone or in pairs. My girlfriend was standing beside me. She yawned and said, “I’d be more worried about sharks.” “Sharks? Nope. Their the least of my concerns,” I said. The early sun’s golden hue stretched across the wide glassy plane of azure water. Race buoys were marked in the distance. A few minutes later, a whistle sounded. Me and my group of 20ish male swimmers came forward. A pack of fit girls and women stood behind us. Their race started 5 minutes after us so we wouldn’t bulldoze over them. The joke was on me: A 13-year-old girl passed me like I wasn’t moving around the 1.5-mile mark. In my defense, I am a sprinter, but I’ll give her the W. The cold water bit into me as we first dove in, but heated up in short order. You always want it too cold rather than too hot. <a href="https://seanjkernan.medium.com/why-on-earth-would-you-do-a-4-mile-swim-race-ac34a1eed60">Click Here</a>