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| View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the beach at Aquatic Park Thursday evening before the relay. |
*Note: I started writing this in early February, its early May and we are ankle-deep in a global pandemic, hopefully, some photos of a better time will stave off the constant feelings of isolation and occupational deprivation. Much love to my swim community around the country. More swim related posts and pictures soon!*
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| Favorite view in San Francisco. |
The 24-hour relay is by far the highlight of my swim adventures for the past two years. (It's also the only event I can afford.) SERC and the Dolphin Club are such unique historic clubs and graciously host the madness every year. The clubs are situated in Aquatic Park right on the water and at the bottom of the trolly tracks and a 15-minute walk to my favorite Chinese bakery. Last year, my first 24 hr relay, I remember walking into SERC with the distinct feeling of walking back in time. Glossy polished wood was everywhere, the whole place smelled like the sea and wooden boats lined the room like outgrowths of the walls. Photos of swimmers in wool bathing suits hung interspersed alongside black and white images of young men standing next to the same wooden boats in the room. The whole atmosphere seemed to say, 'this is where great marathon swimmers are made'. From the first step my heart was ensnared and I knew I would make the pilgrimage to San Francisco every year.
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Amanda on the way to the bakery.
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This year I arrived a day early so that I could call into my medical statistics class (which I regret doing because I should have seized the opportunity to do a super cheap Alcatraz swim but...decisions are hard, and grad school is expensive.)
Since I arrived early I was able to lend a hand with some of the set up for Friday night dinner and the general herding of Team Yeti as we arrived.
This event is about so much more than swimming. Words cannot describe the love in my heart for the people that attend and the experiences we share.
The relay happened almost two months ago and I'm just now getting around to writing this, and as much as I want to, I just can't find the words right now. So instead, it's just pictures.
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| Yetis practicing sighting on land. |
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| Getting in. |
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| This swimmer and their dog do the buoy line! Amazing. |
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| I finally swam behind these boats this year. Terrifying, but worth it. |
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