A Long Swim

A Long Swim is dedicated to hosting open water and marathon swimming events which raise funds for collaborative ALS research. Distances of 5K, 2.4 miles, 1.2 miles, 1,500 meters and 750 meters are a perfect opportunity for triathletes and open water swimmers to guage their training under race conditions.  

The swims are led by English Channel Swimmer, Doug McConnell.  McConnell is a Triple Crown Open Water Swimmer, having successfully swum the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and New York's Manhattan Island. 

Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease for the New York Yankees icon, ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that slowly robs people of the use of their muscles, and so their ability to walk, speak and breathe.  Most people live only two to five years after diagnosis.  Approximately 1,000 people in Illinois and 35,000 people in the US are living with ALS at any given time; and a new person is diagnosed with ALS and a person dies with ALS every 90 minutes.  

ALS occurs throughout the world regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.  It most commonly occurs between the ages of 40 and 70, though it can strike at any age.  It is likely that there are several different causes of ALS.  In about 10% of the cases, ALS is caused by genetic factors and are referred to as "familial ALS."  The remaining 90% are considered to be sporadic ALS, and there is no known cause.  

ALS is a disease that has had a profound effect on Doug McConnell's family.  He lost his father to ALS in 2006, after which other members of his family were diagnosed and are currently battling the disease.  By using marathon swimming, which requires the use of all of the muscles in the body, Doug and A Long Swim have brought awareness and have raised more then $500,000 for ALS research.

2017 is the second year A Long Swim is introducing group swims