On Becoming A Marathon Centurion
Kevin Murphy (on left) and Michael Read (on right)
On Becoming A Marathon Centurion
Courtesy of Ned Denison, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.Ned Denison completed 1 million swimming meters (621 miles or 1000 km) yesterday for 2019. It was the eighth year of the last nine which he accomplished his annual swimming target. “Meters used to be one of my key targets until recently,” said Denison. “In 2018, my goal was 400 laps of nearby Sandycove Island that I completed in September.
Then my goal from November 2018 included 7 epic marathons in a 12-month period – completed.”
What is next?
He wants to join Kevin Murphy and Michael Read, both dual inductees in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame, as a Marathon Centurion.
A Marathon Centurion is a person who becomes a member of the Extraordinary Marathon Century Club.
Denison explains, “Members of the Extraordinary Marathon Century Club have completed 100 or more different marathon swims of various types over the course of their career. The marathon swim can be defined either as an established open water swim at least 10 km in distance organized by an established governing body or race organization or a one-off solo swim (e.g., point-to-point swim, channel swim, circumnavigation swim, river swim, out-and-back swim, etc.
The requirements include the following:
* Swims must be 10 km minimum distance
* Swims must include a minimum of 25 recognized swims that are 25 km or longer in distance
* Swims must include a minimum of 50 recognized swims that are 16 km or longer in distance
* A minimum of 80 swims must be accomplished on different courses (i.e., multiple crossings of the same course do not meet the varied criteria)
* Wearing of wetsuits, neoprene swim caps or tech suits or compression swimwear is not accepted unless the swimmer is in an official FINA event such as a FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series race, a FINA UltraMarathon Swim Series race, a FINA World Championships race, or the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim
* Use of swim aids such a hand paddles, pull buoys or fins are not accepted
* Training swims or a swim of more than two legs are generally not accepted except in exceptional circumstances
My next two big ones planned include a 32 km in Cabo San Lucas and the 36 km Capri-Napoli swim. We all often train against and compete against a clock. My new goal is against the ultimate clock – Father Time.”
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Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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