Thursday, August 4, is the big day!  I have been writing updates about James Jonsson who will be swimming across Lake Tahoe in an attempt to break the world record.  James is a strong supporter of organ, eye and tissue donation and he hopes that people hearing of his swim will make the commitment to sign up on their state’s donor registry if he is successful in his attempt to break the record.  (Of course, he hopes that if he falls short of his goal, people will still support him by registering as donors.)

There are actually 3 lengthwise crossing records for Lake Tahoe.  One is from the north shore to the south shore.  This record will not apply to James.  The other two records both start in about the same place, but one finishes at the Hyatt Pier in Incline Village and the other finishes to the west of Hyatt Pier which is the longest point-to-point swim on the lake.  James’ final destination will be determined during the swim!

If James chooses the shorter swim, it will be 20.81 miles.  The current record was set on September 12, 1987, by Dave Kenyon.  It took him 9 hours 20 minutes.

If James chooses the longer route, will be 22.1 miles.  The current record was set on August 22, 2005, by Ken Harmon.  It took him 11 hours 19 minutes to make that swim.

James has been training for months, both in a swimming pool and in lakes.  He has worked on speed, endurance, and his ability to continue in colder water.  He has even had to work at gaining weight!  Good luck James.  We are cheering for you.

James Jonsson is only four weeks away from his swim across Lake Tahoe! The amount of time and commitment that goes into something like this is incredible. He has been swimming at Deer Creek Reservoir every week for about a month and a half. The water there is starting to warm up, so it is in the low 60s now. Luckily, Lake Tahoe is also warming up, so James should be accustomed to the water temperature when he begins his swim.

Not only does James have to put in a lot of swimming hours to get ready, but there are procedures he must follow. His goal is to break the world record, so he recently received his permits/approvals from the US Coast Guard and the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His swim is officially legal now.

James is promoting organ donation through his swim. He did an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune last December and Open Water Swimming also highlighted his swim. Organ donation is very close to James’ heart. Several years ago, his father received a life saving kidney transplant and James saw first hand the difference this made in his life. Then in 2003, James made the decision to donate organs when his 8 year old son passed away. Through his record breaking swim, James hopes to encourage others to register on their state’s donor registry. In Utah, log on to www.yesutah.org.

I don’t think I am the only one who is waiting for the weather to warm up a little.  I joke about it being time to go swimming or boating, but seriously, it is way too cold still for me to even consider swimming in a lake right now.  This is only one of the many reasons I am so amazed by James Jonsson’s training schedule.

James is attempting to break the world record for swimming Lake Tahoe and in the process; he is raising awareness about the need for organ donation. 

In March, he swam 129.43 miles!  He is hoping to be able to begin swimming at Deer Creek Reservoir towards the end of April.  Once the ice melts and the water hits 45 degrees, he will start doing some of his training there.

James will also be raising awareness about organ donation at an open house on April 27.  James and several other people who have a connection to organ donation will be available at the open house to answer people’s questions about organ donation.  The open house will be at:

Salt Lake Community College
4600 S. Redwood Rd.
Student Center Rm 221-223
6:00 – 8:30 pm.

The training required for any major athletic endeavor is incredible.  I’ve been following James Jonsson as he trains for his attempt at breaking the world record for swimming across Lake Tahoe and I am in awe!

In February, he swam a total of 110.07 miles – over 3875 laps in a standard 25 yard pool!

Not only is he putting in the distance, but he is also getting faster.  He is mixing in sprint sets along with his pace work and his 1,000 yard split times are several seconds faster than they were just last month.

He has even been able to gain two pounds!  Apparently when you put that much time and energy into your workout, you can eat anything you want and then some.

James holds out the challenge to anyone and everyone, “If I break the record, will you commit to registering as an organ donor?”

Keep up the swimming James.  We’re cheering for you.

Here’s an update on James Jonsson who will be attempting to break the world record for swimming across Lake Tahoe.  James wants to bring attention to the need for people to register as organ donors and to encourage anyone who has not registered to make that decision. 

I will be posting blogs regularly to update everyone about James and his progress toward this goal.  Please help James’ cause by telling your friends about what he is doing.  Share the blogs, post on facebook, twitter, etc.  The more people who follow his progress, Yay!!  That’s the point.  We are trying to spread the word about the importance of organ donation.

In January, James swam a total of 107.67 miles!!  In a 25 yard pool, one mile equals approximately 36 laps.  (Note: a lap is down and back.)  That’s over 3875 laps.  Is that dedication or what?

One benefit of swimming that far and that hard is that it burns a lot of calories.  James is actually having a hard time keeping his weight up.  He is about 10 pounds under his ideal weight for the swim, so he is going to have to increase his calorie intake. 

Training is more than just putting in the miles.  He also needs to make sure he can maintain the pace he will need to beat the world record.  His pace training is going well.  In fact, he can actually hold a faster pace than he will need for about three hours. 

The biggest drawback at this point is a strained neck muscle.  It’s slowly healing, but it takes a little more warm-up time to loosen up his neck.

Good luck James.

What does swimming and organ donation have in common?  For swimmer, James Jonsson, they are both things he is passionate about.

James is a marathon swimmer who is currently training to break the world record for a lengthwise swim across Lake Tahoe.  He is doing this swim to bring attention to the need for others to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.  His challenge to everyone – “If I can break the world record, will you commit to being an organ donor?”

James first recognized the importance of organ donation in the early ’80s when his father, who was also a competitive open water swimmer, went into kidney failure.  A transplant in 1986 gave his father back his quality of life and he was able to continue competitive swimming.

In 2003, James became acquainted with donation from both sides when his son tragically passed away.  He was an organ donor and that decision has impacted several lives.  James has exchanged letters with some of the recipients and is grateful that organ donation allowed something positive to come from his son’s death.

The Daily News of Open Water Swimming recently published an article about his upcoming swim.  James plans on making this 22 mile swim on August 4.  To take James’ challenge and register your wishes to be an organ, eye and tissue donor, log on to www.yesutah.org.