The Great Brown Shark…

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Madhu Nagaraja, English Channel vet! (click to enlarge)

Many of you know Madhu as the ankle-wading, coffee-drinking member of LOST Swimming… but don’t be fooled… not only has he swum the English Channel and run the Marathon des Sables, but he was also one of the key people to help me get this club started. 

He used to live and swim in the open water swimming mecca, San Francisco, where they have 2 great ows clubs, the South End Rowing Club and the Dolphins.  Both clubs are over 100 years old and very much the model that I based LOST on.  Despite his achievements, he is a very humble and helpful guy (a great resource if you want some tips on ows… or swimming the Channel!)… even if he needs a push off the couch every once in the while!  😉

Here’s a quote from a friends blog that gives a better description of “The Great Brown Shark!”…

The first LOST Race... and Madhu was a key inspiration, helper and swimmer! (click to enlarge)
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I founded LOST Swimming because I like open water swimming and would like to see it grow and thrive in Lake Ontario. I started as a competitive swimmer as a kid and ended up getting as far as a silver medal at Nationals and going to the Olympic Trials in 1988. But I retired after that, I was sick of swimming. So I got into running marathons and have run over 35 to date, as well as a few ultra marathons, including the Marathon des Sables (7 day, ultra across the Sahara Desert). I also kind of fell into triathlons and have done a handful of Ironman tri's too. This gradually got me back in the water and in 2006 I took the plunge and attempted swimming the English Channel. I didn't quite make it across, but the circle was now complete and after 17 years I was a swimmer again! Although I still do plenty of pool swimming, I now much prefer open water swimming and like to say that open water swimming is to pool swimming, what trail running is to treadmill running! As a result I hope to encourage more people to join me for a dip in Lake Ontario as often as we can!