Tom Hecker -San Diego, USA
Name: Tom Hector Known as: Tom Age: 70
Lives in San Diego California, USA
Occupation: Sales – Biotechnology Components – for 35 years
Introduction: Tom is the 31st inductee to the elite group of Triple Crown swimmers. Membership to this group requires individuals to have officially swum the English Channel (20.5-miles / 33kilometres) the Catalina Channel (20-miles / 32km) and the Swim Around Manhattan Island (28.5-miles / 46km).
Tom achieved his Triple Crown membership in 2009, aged 57.
Editor: At the time of being interviewed for this feature Tom is moving to the back end of recovery and rehab from a shoulder surgery of late 2021. By April 2022 he hopes to be back swimming on a regular basis.
Describe a regular swim Tom
“When I am swimming, my ideal week includes five swims. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of a standard route of two miles. The Saturday swim being longer, either a 3-mile or 5-mile session. As I build towards a defined marathon, a sixth swim per week is added.
“All of my swimming is ocean swimming in my beautiful local La Jolla Cove. I am usually joined by a small group of three to five others of similar pace, with sometimes up to 10 of us on the weekend days. During the week we start at 6am, the Saturday (5-mile) starting at 6:30am and Sunday a 7:30am start followed by hearty breakfast together.
“We have a simple rule for our start time – ‘Toes In The Water’ (TITW time). We make a point of starting on time . . . late-comers can catch us up.
“La Jolla Cove is the perfect place for ocean swimming, I don’t need to go anywhere else.
“My regular 2-mile route is La Jolla Cove to La Jolla Shores and return. The 3-mile route is Cove to Scripps Pier and a combination of the two making up my 5-mile option.
“The Cove has 1/4mile buoy markers which help us stay on course as much as indicate distance. The only craft in the Cove are kayaks – no power craft allowed – so we swim with confidence and safety.
“For a lot of the swim we are in 30-40 feet depth of water, however there is a ledge which will have us swimming in 1000-foot depth at times.
“The Cove has an abundance of sea life which watch us as much as we watch them – at different times of the year we regularly see Turtles, Yellow-fin Tuna, occasionally Sea Bass and the California ‘state’ fish, Garibaldi.
“Each day there is are pods of small swim groups in the water. In my group we are all similar speed which allows us to say a quick ‘hi’ at the turn around beach or pier before starting our return or the next leg.
“I am a proud member of the La Jolla Cove Swim Club. We have a membership of approximately 400 swimmers, ranging from 25 to 70-year old’s. For most of the year we swim in small groups, only getting together at different OWS events in Southern California. On the last Sunday of September several of us run the La Jolla Cove 10 Mile Relay - 10 times of a 1-mile triangle which attracts 600+ swimmers each year. As we are often swimming different challenges over the year this provides the one time to celebrate another year. We use this as a fundraising venture, supporting community groups such as ‘Preventing Drowning’ and the ‘Diabetes Foundation’, which have received $50,000 over the recent years”.
What about the water temperature in the middle of winter Tom?
“First rule is ‘no wetsuit’: I swim in ‘channel-dress’. I am often heard saying ‘my reputation cannot afford a wetsuit’. The water will drop to 53-fahrenheit (11-12 Celsius) in the coldest days of winter, usually averaging higher 50s across the coldest weeks, and rise to 74-fahrenheit (23-24 Celsius) in summer. My sweet-spot is 60-fahrenheit.”
Tom, tell us how and why you started marathon swimming.
“I had swum a little in my youth when living in Phoenix. A friend encouraged me to go with him to the local pool as his wingman while he attempted to meet the local girls. After a while his interest was lost but I continued to swim as I loved the activity of swimming by myself. One day I found out that the swim team members obtained free pool entry, so I joined the club. For two summers I swam on the team, became a lifeguard for a while, and competing in a few interclub swim meets. In those days it was AAU, now US Swimming.
“However, when studying at college (Arizona State University) the swim team schedule and my study schedule did not match up well, so I switched sports; predominately road running. Most weekends I was running a 10km road race.
“Unfortunately a soccer injury curtailed my playing soccer and running so I returned to the pool, joining the Masters swim team at UCSD for a couple of years, swimming most days.
“It was here I first heard others talk about their Saturday swims at ‘the cove’ and the group breakfast afterwards. The sound of a group ocean swim and breakfast was an attraction. Soon I was joining the others on Saturday. I was in the ocean and has been ever since.
“I was now surrounded by a cohort of swimmers involved in ‘marathon’ (10km plus in distance) swims which ignited my interest. How can I get involved I thought? Initially I kept my growing interest in these marathons to myself, however when at the ‘July 4, 2004 Coronado Swim’ celebration my wife loudly announced, ‘Tom is going to swim the English Channel’.
How can I back out now – I was all in!
“Apart from being surrounded by other marathon swimmers, I knew very little about what was required. The next 12 months was a big learning curve. You don’t realise how much you don’t know until your intentions to become fully involved in marathon swimming is announced to the community. Fortunately for me, I was surrounded by many others who had many years of experiences to share.
“On July 28th, 2005, I swam the English Channel (33km) – England to France, aged 53, in 15hours and 21minutes. The success of this swim gave me the encouragement to identify other swims. I quickly had six other swims on my to-do list.”.
Repeat until Complete
“To me, it’s another day at the office. In the first few 100 meters I ask yourself . . . ‘why am I doing this’? The first hour is about finding your rhythm, tuning yourself into the routine of ‘feed, pee, swim’ which you’ll repeat for the next number of hours.
“My mindset is ‘you’ve already paid for this; you can’t back out now’
And many marathon swims are not cheap activities. With the travel, support crew, guide boat, plus day-to-day costs, you can easily invest $10,000.
“Although you feel proud (as well as satisfied and exhausted) once you have completed the swim, it is the preparation of the swim which I find to be the most enjoyable part. The friends you make along the way. The friends who jump and swim with you on the long training days. When I am swimming 8-miles, a friend will swim miles three and four alongside, and another friend will be with me on miles five and six.
“The support really helps me especially during the ‘flat patches’ which always occur during the swim. I often reflect on my preparation and of the people who have supported me till this point. My mind set is ‘right arm – left arm, repeat until complete’.
“The other enjoyable part of the preparation is sharing the preparation progress with others – those who might also be preparing for a marathon, or others who have an interest-only. The La Jolla Cove Swim Club has many swimmers like me, embracing marathon swimming as their athletic adventure – there is always someone to talk swimming, and others who have interest in my training.”
How have you best prepared for your marathon swims Tom?
“For my first marathon, the English Channel, I had the guidance of my coach at UCSD who designed a plan to build up my distances (time in the water) per week over a 5-month period. Once a month I would swim a 10-12mile swim, with the aim to have swum at least one 50% of the distance of the swim I am aiming for.
“For my Strait of Gibraltar swim (September 2006 – 14.4km) I included in my training program the goal to swim the equivalent of the San Diego County Line (70-miles), which I achieved by having my monthly long swim over 8 months of 8-12 miles each time.
“In general, I have found five months is the time I require to prepare with the gradual building of miles; the last two weeks being the time to reduce miles, relax and be ready to go.
“For the long solo swims, there is often a few days rather than an exact date when you swim. The water conditions, especially the tides and winds will influence when you’ll swim. We need to be ready to go, sometimes at very short notice, often just a few hours. This uncertainty is all part of the life of a marathon swimmer.”
Apart from your favourite place, La Jolla Cove, where is another special place to ocean swim Tom?
“San Francisco Bay is where I would go to help acclimatize for my colder water marathons. The water temperature of SanFran is a lot closer to places such as New Zealand where I swam the Cook Strait (23km in January 2017) and of course my first, the English Channel. I have also completed the famous San Francisco Bridge to Bridge swim (10km) twice. Initially in 2014 and again in 2017.”
Cook Strait (New Zealand) 2017
What is your longest swim Tom?
“The Manhattan Island Swim, which I did in July 2008 was 45.9km (8-hours 20minutes). This is the longest in distance, however often the distance length does not always relate to time in the water. This swim was tide aided.
“In 2009 I swam the Maui Channel Swim from Club Lanai to Kaanapali Beach – a 16km swim which took me 9-hours 50mins. The English Channel was15-hours 21minutes. The Catalina Channel (Catalina Island to Mainland. 32km) swim took 10-hours 45mins, and the length of Lake Tahoe (34km) swim in 2011 was a 15-hour 9minute challenge.
“Water conditions have significant effects on the results of any open water swim.”
In finishing Tom, what swims are ahead once your shoulder allows?
“Not all swim attempts are successful. In 2013 I was unsuccessful in my attempt to swim the 27mile (44km) stretch of the Molokai Channel – from Molokai to Oahu in Hawaii. The conditions, especially the winds, won the day on this occasion, stopping me when half-way across the channel, 6 hours in. Of course, in the back of my mind, I may return.”
Solo Swims
July 2005 English Channel 33km 53 yrs old 15:21:00
Sept 2006 Strait of Gibraltar 14.4km 54 03:40:00
July 2009 Catalina Channel 32.3km 59 10:45:24
August 2011 Lake Tahoe (length) 34.2km 60 10:36:00
Races
July 2008 Manhattan Island 45.9km 56 8:20:41
Sept 2009 Maui Channel 15.9km 57 9:50:37
August 2014 Bridge-to-Bridge 10km 62 01:17:46
Sept 2017 Bridge-to-Bridge 10km 65 01:43:48
Triple Crown inductee – 2009
Visit the Marathon Swimmers Federation website here
