He did it! 76 year-old swims from Center Harbor to Alton Bay

ALTON — George Brunstad, who set out from Center Harbor at 10 p.m. on Wednesday evening, stepped into Lake Winnipesaukee to perform a feat of endurance which would have been impressive for a young person in his or her physical prime. His plan was to swim for 22 straight miles, without stopping, and walk ashore at Alton Bay beach the next day.

It's something that an average person would consider impossible and perhaps even foolhardy. For Brunstad, though, it was only his latest challenge, and he wasn't about to start quitting on the first day of his 77th year.

The event, titled the "Great Winnipesaukee Swim," was conceived by Tom Oakley of the Laconia Athletic & Swim Club to inspire donations to the annual WLNH's Children's Auction. Visit www.lascfit.com for donation information.

Brunstad, who turned 76 during his swim, became the oldest person by a quarter-century to swim the length of the big lake. To celebrate his 70th birthday, Brunstad became the oldest person to cross the English Channel.

The feat of senior endurance was expected to conclude at around 4 p.m. yesterday. The Meredith resident's early experience was very promising, as the rain tapered off for his start and his night-time swimming was illuminated by moonlight. With a team of off-duty paramedics following by boat, tracking his pace, navigating for him and providing liquid nourishment, the experienced endurance swimmer made excellent pace, swimming at about 1.6 miles per hour.

Shortly after dawn, though, he entered the wide-open section of the lake known as The Broads and started to run into trouble. The rising sun, heating the water's surface, created gusty winds estimated by some in his crew to be as fast as 40 miles per hour, blowing him off course and turning his planned straight line into an exaggerated curve. If that weren't enough, he had to deal with about three feet of chop.

He kept his pace despite those troubles and organizer Oakley was predicting an arrival about an hour earlier than estimated. When Brunstad reached the mouth of Alton Bay, though, about five miles from his destination, the hours of struggling and exertion caught up to him and he hit what all endurance athletes know as "the wall."

Though he had swam so far, and had the relatively quiet and short stretch of water between him and his destination, Brunstad was barely moving. Two boats full of people – one with his support team, the other full of friends, family members and media personnel – watched him struggle. His arms moved in the freestyle stroke, but his legs and long body were hanging almost straight down into the water. If he was moving, it was at an imperceptible rate.

Concerned about his well-being, one of the paramedics joined Brunstad's wife, Judy, and step-son, Doug Jones, and advised them that the best thing for Brunstad's health was to give up. Jones, a resident of Hawaii who had arrived yesterday afternoon as a surprise for his step-dad, was elected to jump in the lake to have a conversation with the determined swimmer.

It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.

Jones, speaking after Brunstad had reached the Alton town beach, said he asked a question that seemed to ignite a new source of motivation for the man who married Jones's mother 31 years ago. "I said, do you think we should call it a day?"

Brunstad's answer was an emphatic "no."

"Maybe that's what did it," added Jones.

From that point on, with a few miles to go, Jones swam alongside or in front of Brunstad, providing a focus for his efforts. Jones, a fitness professional, convinced Brunstad to alternate between freestyle and breast stroke, which utilized a new set of muscles and brought Brunstad's legs back up to the lake's surface. Although he said it appeared that Brunstad's pace was slow when viewed from the boat, Jones said that he had to work hard to keep up with the older man.

Jones swam with his step-father the rest of the way, right up to the beach.

Judy admitted that it was difficult for her to watch her husband struggle against his physical limits, but even while he was at his bleakest moment, she was still betting on his success. At the mouth of Alton Bay, she admitted being concerned, "because his stroke count is 37 and it usually is 50, that's concerning. But George is a very determined person... I don't think he's going to quit until he makes it."

When asked when the last time her husband gave up on a task, Judy thought for a moment, then answered, "I don't remember him every quitting anything. He's not that kind of person."

"He's a unique human being. Strong, disciplined, determined," she said, recalling how Brunstad's father put him in charge of the family farm at the age of 14. She recalled how her husband taught himself German and Norwegian for the simple challenge of it, and how during his pilot career he re-learned how to fly when electronic controls were incorporated into the cockpit.

"What motivates him, I think is the challenge," she said. As if to prove his wife correct, Brunstad seemed to draw more strength at the moment his situation seemed darkest. With his family and friends cheering him from the boat and with bayside residents cheering, ringing cowbells and honking horns from the shore, Brunstad kept on, stroke by stroke, pulling his body down the bay, then around Sandy Point until finally the Alton town beach was within sight and the crowd of people was still there, hours after his initial estimated arrival time, to cheer him to the finish line.

At about 8 p.m., after 22 hours in Lake Winnipesuakee, Brunstad crawled up the sands of the beach, struggled for one last moment, and rose to his feet. Flashbulbs popped, paramedics threw towels around him and guided him to a boat to bring him to the party waiting at the other side of the bay, and another impossible act became possible.

After hearing the crowd sing him "Happy Birthday To You," Brunstad was placed in an awaiting ambulance and brought to Lakes Region General Hospital for observation.

As they watched the paramedics load him into the ambulance, two brothers who call Brunstad "Grandpa George" even though they aren't related, said his courage and determination were remarkable.

Jonathan Wood, 12, of Franklin, said "It makes me feel really good and happy that he was able to achieve something so great."

His brother Jeremiah, 14, said, "It was really inspiring to find what you can do and do it, he figures out what he wants to do and he does it."

Buoyed by faith

Speaking before his big swim, Brunstad said he wasn't approaching Lake Winnipesaukee lightly, even though some might consider crossing the English Channel to be a more challenging swim. "I won't say that, because I'm six years older. I am slower, I know I'm slower," he said.

Like his channel crossing, which raised funds for an orphanage in Haiti, Brunstad said he agreed to the challenge after Oakley explained how he could use the event to raise funds for the Children's Auction, an annual event which raises and distributes money to local organizations that benefit local children.

"Oakley has done a lot of these things," said Brunstad. "He has the means to make it work, I just thought I'd support him."

Brunstad said he calls upon his Christian faith in times of difficulty. Anticipating that he'd have to face down his own exhaustion, he said he planned to inspire himself with phrases, hymns and scriptures, such as "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."

Swimming for hours, especially in darkness, can provide for him an experience he doesn't get on dry land. He becomes engrossed in the repetition of the physical movements and with the sensation of floating through water. "When I swim, I feel the glide, I feel the strength and I feel the grace that's there."

SWIM captions:

SWIM STROKE or SWIM BAY

George Brunstad, swimming here with his step-son Doug Jones of Hawaii, makes his way down Alton Bay after pushing through a significant wall of exhaustion. Brunstad, 76, swam for 22 consecutive hours ending yesterday evening. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)

SWIM WALK or SWIM CRAWL

After swimming from Center Harbor to Alton Bay, George Brunstad struggled one last time before bringing himself to his feet and was then embraced by paramedics. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)