From Louisiana, eighty-five-year-old Harry Briggs swims 2 miles - in a river, not a heated pool - for fundraising. That makes the prospect of volunteering for your fundraising effort or committing to sell a few items look a lot easier, doesn't it? ;-)
Eighty-five-year-old Harry Briggs will slip into the Red River on Thursday with two things on his mind -- his wife and finishing his two-mile swim.
He created the Lydia Briggs Tennis Scholarship for the Northwestern State women's tennis program six years ago in the memory of his wife, who was an avid tennis player.
His two-mile swim is an annual fundraising effort for the endowment bearing his wife's name and draws attention for the program. It's the first time he'll perform the swim in Shreveport.
"It's quite a challenge at age 85," said Briggs, who is adjunct professor of political science at Northwestern's Leesville-Fort Polk campus.
"I do have demons that enter my mind and tell me that I can't do it. You just have to drive them out. It's really in the mind."
A two-mile swim is difficult even for triathletes, but for Briggs, it's nothing compared to some of the swims from his younger days.
In 1947, he was the first person to swim across Lake Erie, completing the trip in 35 hours, 55 minutes.
Legendary writer Gay Talese wrote a profile on him for the New York Times in the early 1950s, dubbing him, "The Paddlin' Professor."
On his 77th birthday, he swam Tampa Bay needing 14 hours to traverse the current from Tampa to St. Petersburg.
In 1997, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame for his 43 marathon swims.
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When it's over, hopefully the Demons' women's tennis program has a few more bucks for its players and he has accomplished another goal.
"As we grow older, we lose our goals," Briggs said. "This is a tremendous goal for me. I really want to do it.
"It's a great feeling when you walk out of the water and know you can still do it. And, what's two miles?"