Thanks to You and You and You and You and You and You and You and You and You and You and You...
There are so many people that helped me. I know I'm going to miss someone really critical here.
- Leslie Thomas - Leslie gave up over two weeks of her time and pay to crew for me in England. She also sat in a Zodiac for almost 10 hours during my training swims. Twice. That's just what she gave up in time. Her enthusiasm and cheering kept me going when times got rough, and she fixed my stroke. I could go on and on. The fact is, I wouldn't have made it across without her.
- Mike Rossner - Mike was expecting a relaxing vacation, but instead got pulled into crewing with Leslie. He was a huge help, and critical in getting me across.
- Reg and Ray Brickell - As Bob Roper always says, it's the pilots that are the true heroes. They got me across in one piece.
- Matt Bracco and Ali Hall - Matt and Ali and I did a lot of our training swims together - I can't tell you how many times I thought about crawling back into bed, but went for a swim just because I knew that they'd be swimming as well.
- Bob Roper and Jon Meyer - Bobbie and Jon piloted me on a number of my training swims in the SF Bay. They spent a huge amount of time planning and piloting on 3 of my long training swims in the SF Bay.
- Dianna Wygant - Dianna piloted my last long swim in the Bay, giving up a day of her time. She was so positive all the time, and a great support throughout all my training.
- Allison Kalhammer - Allison also gave up a Saturday of hers to co-pilot on my first long training swim.
- Diane Davis - Diane used to kick my butt every Monday morning. She wouldn't let me get out of the water until I put in the distance, and made sure that I put in the training time to make it across.
- Joel Wilson - I've been going to Joel for the last few years to get videotaped and have my stroke analyzed. And every time, I'm amazed how much of a difference it makes.
- Jim Knight - For reminding me that no matter how good the last stroke felt, there's always something to improve. Thanks for all the fun races.
- Everyone at the South End - I love everything about the club, and was humbled by everyone's offers to help. The support I received was truly amazing.
- Bill and Audrey at the Victoria Guest House - We spent about two weeks waiting for the weather to settle down in Dover, and Bill and Audrey were absolutely wonderful. They took us in as family and made us feel relaxed.
- Suzie Dods, Tom Keller, and everyone at the Dolphin Club - The South End and Dolphin clubs have a little bit of a rivalry going on, but all were helpful. Suzie gave me a lot of advice based on her swimming experience. Tom and I did some of our training swims together - he crossed the channel on August 17th.
- Jamie, Jon, Dick, and the SCSC Masters - Still one of the best Masters program around.
- Jim McGoldrick - Jim put me on a strength training program that helped to prevent injuries.
- Madhu Nagaraja - Madhu swam the English Channel in 2004, and offered a lot of great advice throughout my training.
- Everyone at work - that picked up the slack while I was training and supported me along the way.
- Joe Wolf - who has possibly the most complicated feeding regimen I've ever seen. Joe swam across the Channel on August 15th.
- Bonnie Schwartz - who gave me a lot of helpful advice, and suggested the Victoria House B&B. Bonnie swam across the Channel on July 13th.
- Everyone that called during the swim - Leslie and Mike wrote a note whenever someone called, and this gave me a huge boost.
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