500 Mile Club swimmer reaches 100-mile mark; Octogenarian is the first

MILAN, N.M. - The Village of Milan Natatorium, Cibola County’s only public indoor pool, created the 500 Mile Club last summer. The swim club currently has 22 participants. Swimmers schedule times that they would like to come in and there are only five people allowed in the pool at one time.

The goal is for the participants to swim as many laps as are equivalent to first, 100 miles, then 300 miles, and then 500 miles. One participant, Kenneth O’Connor, has completed the 100-mile goal - the first to do so.

Club officials explained that one mile is equivalent to 36 laps — a lap requires swimming down the length of the pool and back. Therefore, 100 miles is equivalent to 3,600 laps, 300 miles is 10,800 laps, and 500 miles is 18,000 laps.

O’Connor, an 82-year-old man, has enjoyed swimming and being active most of his life. He joined the 500 Mile Club on July 6, 2020. The dedicated swimmer claimed his reasoning for joining the club was to establish a goal for himself. O’Connor usually goes to the pool Monday through Friday to do his laps from about 5:30-7:00 a.m. and he typically swims about a mile and a half’s worth of laps per day.

When asked how it felt to have reached the 100-mile mark, O’Connor said that it felt “great.” Milan Recreation/Pool Clerk Wanda Merriman awarded O’-Connor a T-shirt and a certificate on Jan. 21 for completing the 100 miles. Looking to the future, considering his current battle with cancer, upcoming medical appointments will determine whether O’Connor can continue swimming and maintaining his active lifestyle.

However, if cleared medically, O’Connor has already enthusiastically said that he will be “shooting for 300.”