Midmar Mile 8 Mile Club - Completed

[Jigghead]

Hi Hubbers,

 

As many of you may be aware, for the last two years I have tried to raise money for a variety of charities by participating in some sporting events. Last year, I managed to raise around R6,000 for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and the year before I raised in the region of R2,500 for The Chaeli Campaign.

 

Due to injury though, this year I let it slide. That was until when considering my entry into the 2014 Midmar Mile I stumbled upon the 8 Mile Club. For those of you that are not familiar with this event, it effectively means that participants swim in every one of the 8 starting groups over the Midmar weekend (that’s four on Saturday and four on Sunday). We’ll start 1hr 15 mins apart! So, I’ll do a 30-40 min swim and then be whisked by boat back to the start with a 35 min rest! Apparently we get some high energy goodies to eat and some TLC if required.

 

The catch here is that in order to be allowed to do this, I commit to raising a minimum of R10,000 for one of their chosen charities. The charity I have chosen to support this year is The Red Cap Foundation. These guys do a lot of good work in educating our young underprivileged South Africans. 80% of the money I manage to raise will go directly to Red Cap. The other 20% is split between the following charities which are also all very worthy recipients:

 

· Little Eden

· Little Angels

· SA Guide Dogs

· PMB SPCA

· Umngeni SPCA

· KZN Cystic Fibrosis

· Pevensey Place

· Thandanani Children's Foundation

· Cancer Association

· Society for the Deaf

· Village Safe Haven

· Gateway Christian School

· iThemba Lethu

· The Learn Project

· Colin & Pam Boake's Foster Home

· Community Care Project

 

By now I’m hoping you've realised that I’m not after a pat on the back

 

What message would I be sending if I didn't put my money where my mouth is? I have pledged R1,000 on my own. Don’t panic though, I’m not looking for this amount from you, although it would be nice . What I’m after is to try and exceed the R10,000 minimum. Partly because I commit to making up any shortfall myself, but mainly because we all get to contribute to one of the single most important issues facing our youth today. Education.

 

Entries have only just opened and so I may be jumping the gun just a little bit, but please give some serious consideration to helping me pursue what I think is a very worthy cause. To sweeten the deal, I’m going to boost, in addition to the R1,000 already pledged, each donation received by 10%. Please bear in mind, as if you should need further motivation , that you will receive tax certificates for your donation too, so SARS will be funding portion of your contribution anyway . Businesses can also contribute so maybe knock your boss up for a donation too. If you’re the boss, maybe speak to your staff?

 

I will keep you posted on my fundraising progress as time goes by as well as any other info relevant to my quest to conquer Midmar (I've done it before, just not 8 times in a single weekend – in fact not even times in total ). This will not deter me though and I’m certain that I will pull it off; unless of course I get taken out by one of Midmar’s monster carp or barbel.

 

So, until next time, please rummage through your finances and figure out if you've got the budget to help educate our underprivileged youth one mile at a time.

 

Thanks to those of you who read all the way down to the end. I’m not sure everyone would have

 

I'll be posting some updates on a bit of my training as well as my fund raising progress, partly to keep you informed and partly to bump the thread as it slides down the list.

 

PM me if you need any further info.

 

Jigghead

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jigghead

[Jigghead]

Bump, partly 'cos I'm bored.

 

I have however managed to raise around R14K for my cause. I'm swimming around 10km a week and feeling pretty good. Given the awesome response I've had I'm now aiming for R20k

 

#justsaying

[Jigghead]

OK:

 

So I completed my 8 Mile Club Swim this weekend. a bit of a mixed bag weather wise but it's done and I managed to raise close to R12K. They were well organised and we were looked after very well with boats back to the start, food and massages when necessary. It was a thoroughly enjoyable event and one that I have decided to put on my annual calendar.

 

My times etc. for the separate events are as follows:

 

 

These were taken off the Garmin Forerunner 910XT I use for swimming etc.

 

For anyone who is interested, this is one of the best events I have participated in, loads of fun and very well organised. Having done 5 Midmar Miles on separate occasions prior to this weekend, I can say without doubt that this was the best of the lot. No more single swims for me any more, 8 Mile is such a lot of fun I cannot even begin to describe it.

 

So, I'm hoping for a bit of a Hub group next year!

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jigghead

[mon-goose]

well done jigghead.

 

condolences though to the family who lost a husband and dad in the swim

[fabes]

Well done

[De Rosa]

Hats off to you Jigghead we need more people like you in this world to make a difference. I also took part in this years midmar for the first time and not being a swimmer it was flippen difficult. Kudos to all who took part and sincere condolences to the family who lost a loved one.

[eeeek]

So, I'm hoping for a bit of a Hub group next year!

 

Well done! This has been something I have been keen on doing for a number of years now, may just join you in 2015...bit of a pricey trip from Cape Town for Just one mile, may as well split the costs amongst 8

[Jigghead]

Hats off to you Jigghead we need more people like you in this world to make a difference. I also took part in this years midmar for the first time and not being a swimmer it was flippen difficult. Kudos to all who took part and sincere condolences to the family who lost a loved one.

 

Ja, apparently he went missing on event #3 on the Saturday. The water on that event was rough with quite high swells. It go much worse for #4 though and they were discussing whether or not to call it off at one stage. In the end they said anyone under 13 yrs was not to swim and strongly suggested that if you weren't able to do a 45min swim in normal conditions that you didn't swim either.

 

I see on the news they still have not found the missing swimmer. What a tragedy this is, I doubt we'll never really know exactly what happened, but I must say that any type of etiquette goes out the window once in the water. People swim over each other without so much as an acknowledgement. I have a 7cm scratch on my right shoulder after being swum over by a girl in event #4 or #5, can't remember which, but it was made by her toenail of all things. I'm not even sure she gave it a second's thought.

 

Imagine someone gets a heel to the temple! Just be safe out there and look out for the other swimmers. There's plenty of space in the dam and it doesn't take too much effort to go around the slower guys/girls.

 

Hope the man's family get closure sooner rather than later.

[De Rosa]

Look it's my first midmar mile and I can't blame the organizers because they pulled off a fantastic event. However I do feel that some sort of seeding event of shorter distances needs to take place before a person can partake in the midmar. I say this because about 100m out on the dam a guy next to me started freaking out in the water. Not being able to assist the guy. I just shouted for the jetskis and they were there in about 30 seconds to help the guy out. Like these situations I had witnessed 3 on my swim.

[De Rosa]

The seeding events would just make people more comfortable out on the water when they have to swim longer distances

[shaper]

Also was my first this year and enjoyed it immensely as well as the vibe. Big congrats to you Jigghead for doing the 8 miler, you can wear that gold cap with pride !!

[Benjamin]

OK:

 

So I completed my 8 Mile Club Swim this weekend. a bit of a mixed bag weather wise but it's done and I managed to raise close to R12K. They were well organised and we were looked after very well with boats back to the start, food and massages when necessary. It was a thoroughly enjoyable event and one that I have decided to put on my annual calendar.

 

My times etc. for the separate events are as follows:

 

 

These were taken off the Garmin Forerunner 910XT I use for swimming etc.

 

For anyone who is interested, this is one of the best events I have participated in, loads of fun and very well organised. Having done 5 Midmar Miles on separate occasions prior to this weekend, I can say without doubt that this was the best of the lot. No more single swims for me any more, 8 Mile is such a lot of fun I cannot even begin to describe it.

 

So, I'm hoping for a bit of a Hub group next year!

Well done bru. That's a great effort. It's always a good day out, but only ever done 1 at a time before. 8 a bit out of my pay grade I'm afraid.

Interesting to see how your distances varied per swim. Got to swim straight.

[Jigghead]

Well done bru. That's a great effort. It's always a good day out, but only ever done 1 at a time before. 8 a bit out of my pay grade I'm afraid.

Interesting to see how your distances varied per swim. Got to swim straight.

 

Ya, I worked hard on my straight swimming this year. Some of the rougher swims had me fighting currents so it was a little more difficult.

 

In the past I've breathed on the right hand side only. This year I put a lot of effort whilst practicing into breathing on alternate sides. I used the buoys as well as other swimmers as points of reference and continuously adjusted my direction. I found it easier as I didn't have to break my rhythm and look up to see where I was going.

 

Problem with this method is that it seems to work best on flat water as it's difficult to see the buoys and other swimmers when the swell is bigger. I did compare my distances with others using the same device (Garmin Forerunner 910XT) and I was quite happy to see that I was swimming straighter than most of them.

 

Having said this, I also wonder about the accuracy of the GPS readings when the unit is submerged briefly on every alternate stroke. I know DC Rainmaker has said that he often swims with his GPS unit in his swimming cap in order to ensure unbroken line of sight to the satellites and thus ensuring better accuracy.

 

A Mile is 1,609 meters, so on the whole, I'm quite happy with most of the distances although given my average speeds, I could quite easily have shave around a minute off some of those swims if I'd swum straighter.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Jigghead

[carrera4s]

Well done!

[Woolf]

Well done on completing the 8 miles. I swam in event 4 and 5 (with the wife and kids after they pulled out of 4). Event 4 was rough with the swells, wind and currents. Prefered line is on the left of the course so I normally stay on the right and I've never had any issues with bumps etc.

[BigGuy]

Well done Jigghead. I have never had much interest in swimming but my wife did her first Midmar this year and loved it. I was looking on at race 4 and thought no way! Oh, and I will never ever comment again on people wearing lycra who should not be wearing lycra at bike races. What has been seen cannot be unseen.