Written by Gary Franchi.
Photos by Karen VanHaverbeke.

One thing I’m learning about these open-water swims is that they all seem to present their own difficult circumstances. This year’s 4 Loops 4 Fun 6K (3.78 miles) on June 28 was no exception.

Two years ago, swimmers were greeted by extremely unseasonal mid-50s summer weather, cloudy skies and occasional light rain for what then was a 5K swim at Prospect Lake in Colorado Springs. For this year’s expanded 6K journey on June 28, we had sunshine and much nicer temps, probably around 65 or 70 degrees for the 9:05 a.m. start. Ah, but there was a stiff breeze coming out of the northwest from the time we arrived at the sign-in clubhouse.

The “we” consisted of Buddy Rambo, Cecil Townsend and myself. Accompanying us was Karen VanHaverbeke, who split the 6K distance with Carrie Slover last year but who opted to sit out this one since she had just resumed swimming a few weeks prior and is very much affected by cold open water anyway. Hence, she stayed on the sidelines, traversing several loops around the lake on foot and lending spirited moral support.

For Buddy and I, this was our first 6K attempt. Cecil, meanwhile, covered it well last year and knew what to expect. While Cecil and I were committed to doing the entire four loops this year, Buddy didn’t even think about doing the 4 Loops until about a week or so beforehand and went into it aiming to cover one loop at a time and see how his tender shoulder would hold up.

It held up well, despite the wind-blown wavy, choppy water that greeted us on portions of two legs of the four-buoy course. Oh, and the seaweed – that was fun, too. How does it grab and hold on as if it has hands?

Whatever, Cecil battled a bit of a hydration problem in this one but still led the way for us, finishing in one hour and 50 minutes. The “Budster” and I were about 10 or so minutes behind him, happy to have survived potential shoulder problems (Buddy) that never materialized and leg, feet and rib cage cramps (me) that caused a slowdown in the last two loops. We were three of only 11 swimmers who swam all four loops, the rest content to participate on relay teams. And we were the three oldest.

After the euphoria of finishing followed by a slow trickle of shower water that made cleansing difficult, we were treated by the opportunity to have custom-made T-shirts made on site, and we all picked out the cool colors of our choice. The real bonus, of course, was the refueling lunch – and we chose Chili’s off Circle Drive and I-25, with swim notes compared over an Alaskan Amber or other beverage of choice.

It was a great day to be alive.

Event/Participant                                 Time     

Event 2  Men 55-59 6k Open Water
1 Franchi, Gary             59 PP		2:00:11.00 

Event 2  Men 60-64 6k Open Water 
1 Townsend, Cecil           60 WPM		1:50:29.00
1 Rambo, Buddy              60 PP		2:02:27.00