Patti Bauernfeind explains what "I Keep Swimming" is all about: Her quest to inspire others with her ultra marathon swims to donate to Trust in Eduction. Patti is motivated to swim by her love for open water and by her desire to help kids in Afghanistan. She’s swimming to raise funds for Trust in Education, an organization that provides education and health services to women and children in Afghanistan. Patti has herself tutored several Afghan refugees and knows first hand of the hurdles they have to overcome. Donate today at IKeepSwimming.com.

1. Swimming With Sharks: Marathon
Swimming & Salesforce
Patti Bauernfeind
Passionate Marathon Swimmer & Volunteer
Day Job: Director, Alliances Marketing
www.ikeepswimming.com

2. Crazy Stretch Goal

3. Crossing the English Channel – No Ferry Needed
Chunnel &
Ferry Route
Swim

4. English Channel Swim: September 25, 2015
/England to France – 21 miles
/Distance swum – ~ 22 miles
/“English Channel Rules” – Speedo, cap and
goggles, no touching the boat
/ Crazy busy shipping channel
/2,122 Solo English Channel swimmers
/Time: 10:45:00

5. Swimming Cook Strait: February 3, 2016
4 months later
/South Island to North Island
New Zealand – 18 miles
/Distance swum – ~ 20 miles
/“English Channel Rules”
/Notoriously windy and ‘sharky’ water
/84 Solo Cook Strait Swimmers
/Time: 8:09:28
South Island
New Zealand
North Island
New Zealand

6. Endless Inspiration

7. Refugee Volunteering & Trust in Education
​> Passion for helping and tutoring refugee
​ kids
​> Volunteer through Jewish Family and
​ Community Services –
​ resettlement agency in the SF Bay area
​> Compelled to raise $$ to help Afghan kids not
​ lucky enough to come to the US
• Fundraising for Trust in Education to provide
education services and schools in Afghanistan

8. Inspiration
​Raise $10,000 for Trust in Education
​Raised: $12,400 from English Channel
​And Cook Strait
​Total Raised across all swims:
​$105,000

9. Passion – Why I Do Marathon Swims
/ Fundraising and giving back
/ Being Challenged
/ Growth & learnings from every
swim
/ Equanimity – being @ peace
/ Curiosity - What would it be like
to swim…..

10. If There Is Magic on This Planet, It Is Contained
in Water
​- Loren Eiseley

11. Getting Ready: Like
Working @ Salesforce

12. / 32 weeks of training on top of
2014 Monterey Bay swim
/ Follow a plan, adapt when
needed
/ Being at ease while working
hard
/ Mental prep
– attitude and gratitude
– tools to manage negative
thoughts and pain
Managing Your Mind > Rotating Your Arms

13. Be Curious: Channel Your Inner 5 Year Old
/ Tides and Currents
/ Sports Nutrition – I don’t get to eat anything I want
/ Hypothermia –Testing ways to keep it away
/ Real vs. Perceived threats
/ Sports Psychology – Think like Yoda

14. Learning Never Stops:
/ My own mistakes
/ Other sports: Mt climbing,
cycling and running
/ What I need for recovery –
taking time off is important,
listening to my body and
emotions
/ Learning what is enough
within a full schedule
Ongoing Learning Is Critical

15. Swimming Ohana:
/ Coaches
/ Swim Community
/ Crew
/ Scientists
/ Dr.s
/ Volunteers
/ Friends
/ Family
/ Technologists

16. Resiliency
Change is never painful,
only resistance to the change
is painful
​- Buddha
Pulled 2 miles from the finish on 3rd attempt across Monterey Bay
Successfully crossed on 4th
swim

17. The Joy and Pain
of a Marathon
Swim

18. Solo Swim is Not Done Alone

19. English Channel Crew Team: Coaching,
Monitoring & Food!

20. FUN! Laughed All the Way to France

21. Landing on France 10+ hours later

22. Cook Straight: Dreamy Conditions After A Long Wait

23. Help from Cook Strait Crew and Other Friends

24. Pain & Obstacles: Real, But How True

25. Joy of Succeeding: Benefits Outweigh The Struggle
“I Have Lost My Blood To Sand Flies,
My Skin To Rocks, My Tears To The
Sea And My Legs To Running. I Still
Feel There Is More Of Me Left Than
Lost, For What I Have Lost Does Not
Equal What I Have Found”.
-New Zealand
Outward Bound Athlete

27. Future Goals:
Wisdom from a Ella, a 3rd
Grader
“My goal is to be
more grateful for
what I have.”

28. August 2017
Loch Ness: 23 miles, 54o
Raise $30,000 for Refugee
Job Placement program

29. THANK YOU

30. A Bit More…
www.ikeepswimming.com

31. Some Additional Inspiration
Local Swimmers: took on swimming to/from the Farallons [aka Devils
Teeth] as solo swimmers
• Kim Chambers: Documentary (being produced) and blog
• Simon Dominquez: Documentary (being produced)
• Joe Locke: successful on his 7th
attempt

32. Some Amazing Open Water Marathon Swimmers
Lynn Cox: amazing ultra swimmer, peace ambassador and author
• Swimming to Antarctica
• Grayson
Lewis Pugh: adventure swimmer and environmentalist
• TED: How I Swam the North Pole
• TED: My Mind-Shifting Everest Swim

33. Fuel for the Swims
• Fed every 30 minutes, < 1 minute feeds
• Solid food @ top of the hour
• Treats

34. All About the Base
Long
Swim
15K
Long
Swim
30K