Go Long!
- Steve Russo
- Aug 15, 2014
- 3 min read
The Longbridge Swim. by Robert Lavala
I dare you! No really, that's more than likely how it all began back in 1955 when a group of friends swam the 1.76 mile distance along the Long Bridge in Sandpoint. Can you imagine swimming for over an hour or even two? Well, nearly one thousand swimmers did more than imagine this August as they once again came from all over the country to swim Lake Pend Oreille. Nine swimmers from Bonners Ferry joined in the fun and came away winners. The youngest of the swimmers from Bonners is Thomas Mooney-Rivkin, age 12, who swam the distance in one hour thirty minutes and forty-two seconds.
Thomas told me it was his second time swimming the race and this year he was able to swim with his mom, Colleen. He did the swim fourteen minutes faster than his first time. He is pretty excited how everything worked out on race day as the wind caused the water to be really choppy. Rivkin is no stranger to competition and talking with this sports-minded twelve year old it is easy to see that the goals he sets will be met. He hopes to take another ten minutes off his time next year. Colleen also did a great job swimming the race in one hour thirty-one minutes and eighteen seconds.
The next competitor I spoke with, Susan Aitken age 56, swam with her niece, 25 year old Amethyst Aitken. Susan just recovered from shoulder surgery and has suffered from arthritis for years. She turned in a time of two hours sixteen minutes. She told me that she dropped time from the previous swim but that is quite understandable considering her recovery from surgery! She was super excited about next year and will be practicing at the pool. She was happy that her niece was able to swim with her as it was Amethyst's first time doing the LBS.
My wife, Sheila Lavala, enthusiastically entered the race this year for the third time. She has always loved to run and be in shape and so the swim is a natural fit. “Swimming all year around is challenging but really helps you prepare for the long swim”, she said. I asked her – already knowing the answer – if she was going to do it again next year. No hesitation: “Yes.” Her time this year is one hour thirty minutes and thirty seconds.
And finally I was able to speak with our long-time UPS friend, Dan Bartlett. Many reading this will know Dan because of his friendly manner and the deliveries he brings to us. Dan was thrilled to have trained for the swim, facing a life-long fear of large bodies of water, and then doing it with gusto. He turned in a time of one hour fifty-three minutes flat. He told me he was always the “...guy who stayed in the boat”. Well, he really got out of the boat this time and is looking forward to next year. His ultimate goal is to be under an hour. “I was terrified!” he said laughing. Dan grew up in the Mojave Desert in California so swimming was never something he did as a kid. Well, as a big kid, he says he'll do it again... and again. His last words to me: “Everyone should set goals and take risks. It makes you feel alive!”
Bonners Ferry Long Bridge Swim Participants:
Thomas Mooney-Rivkin – Age 12 – 1:30:42
Colleen Mooney – Age 54 – 1:31:18
Susan Aitken – Age 56 – 2:16:42
Amethyst Aitken – Age 25 – 1:43:30
Diane Blanford – Age 61 – 2:05:46
Tammy Blanford – Age 34 – 1:50:38
Elaine Wheatley – Age 53 – 1:42:02
Sheila Lavala – Age 52 – 1:30:30
Dan Bartlett – Age 47 – 1:53:00
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