Endurance athletes in every sport are a breed apart. They are often more cerebral than celebrated, more introverted than extroverted, more inspirational than arrogant. They know what they want and they set an agenda to achieve their goals in a methodical manner.
Those in the aquatic world are especially driven with their head in the water, swimming hour after hour, day after day, month after month in pursuit of their marathon swimming goals. They are determined and dedicated to say the least.
Like other endurance athletes, endurance swimmers come from all walks of life yet their sport connects them. Like a social club with a special handshake, these athletes have commonalities that are not readily apparent to the outside world. The passport to their inner circle has a number of unknown stamps.
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Here are just a few indicators that you might be a marathon swimmer yourself:
- Your favorite author is Lynne Cox.
- You have four jars of lanolin in your car.
- You equate the sight of neoprene with someone scratching their fingernails on a blackboard.
- You are Facebook friends with 36 of the 49 Triple Crown swimmers.
- Oceans Seven is on your bucket list.
- An email from Philip Rush is like winning the lottery.
- You know the components of Maxim.
- You feel like you've been to Sandycove even though you've never visited Europe.
- You read Donal Buckley's blog first thing in the morning.
- Marathon Swimmers Forum is your favorite online property.
- For you, single-digit swimming is doable, not dangerous.
- When Mike Oram speaks, you listen.
- When you see a body of water, you wonder what the water temperature is.
- When you see a body of water, you Google it to see if it has even been swum.
- Your first question upon landing in San Francisco is, "Where is Aquatic Park?"
- You know the difference between the Dolphin Club and South End Rowing Club.
- After your 100 x 100s, you head to the beach.
- Swimming extra on holidays is a given.
- You always wonder if you have done enough and stress out when others do more.
- You fret about every twinge in your shoulders.
- "Nothing great is easy", is your favorite quote.
- You love bioluminescence.
- You have considered—many times—how to punch a shark.
- You know more types of jellyfish than you do cats.
- You diet to gain bioprene.
So, are you part of the marathon swimming club?
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