Swim for Life a big success

I got a bit off assignment this morning, as I was supposed to be covering the Puget Sound Blood Center's 12th Annual Swim for Life Across Lake Washington. I was diverted, however, by the spectacular crash of the dump truck in Madison Valley. Nevertheless, here's a photo of a member of the first team to make it across the 2.5-mile course, which began at Medina Beach.

The swim started at 7:30, and the first swimmer arrived at the Madison Street dock at about 8:45. Not bad. She was a waif-like teenage girl without a wetsuit! Supposedly the water was realtively warm (70 degrees in some spots), but most of the swimmers I saw definitely had wetsuits.

Swim organizers told me that the event, which raised money to fund a new bloodmobile for the PSBC, had significantly more participation than last year. About 250 swimmers made it across the lake, even though not all of them could do in with a an hour-fifteen time.