Photo by David Ahmed

Welcome to Ethan Herschenfeld's
"Boston Light Swim" Fundraiser!

Hello friends, family, and fellow humans. I'm doing the 120th running-- that is, swimming-- of the eight mile Boston Light Swim (https://www.massowsa.org/bls) on 8/4/26 as a personal challenge, and as a way to raise funds and awareness for Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee which runs a food pantry and other vital services for the community. The Boston Light Swim is the oldest open water marathon swim in the U.S. I did a long swim back in 2012, with the idea of building on that one to then do one of the monster marathon swims, like the one around Manhattan. That idea is still floating around in my consciousness and I'm hoping the Boston Light Swim will be a first step-- or stroke-- on that journey. I've found the donations very motivating in the past when a swim gets difficult (like the very cold swim4life in Provincetown in 2024). Just thinking about the donors and the beneficiaries pushed despair to the side and gave me the oomph to keep swimming. I'm banking on that effect on 8/4. I've also decided to match all donations 1:1 so if we get donations of $X, I'll also donate $X, and the CEOC will receive $2X! Math!! Thanks for your support! I'll post a weekly training and fundraising update, and an after-swim report. Happy semiquintennial! -- Ethan

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Ethan's Weekly Updates:

July 28, 2026

Hi y'all,

This is probably my final update before the swim.

Thank you for you generous donations! We're only about 200 bucks shy of our goal of $3,600, with a week to go. I'm matching donations 1:1 so the swim has already raised over $6,700 to support the CEOC food pantry and all the vital services they provide.

Did my longest long training swim on Friday, in Long Pond Wellfleet, which took me about 4 hours (maybe 3:55), and I covered around 6.7 miles. Thought it was 7 miles since the pond is said to be a half mile long and I did 14 lengths, but then I used Mymaps on Google and came up with 6.7. Once again, I got out after every mile for about 2min to eat half a banana, or a small locally grown potato from the farmers' market, and to drink some water with electrolytes, so that took a good 12 minutes or so. So again I seem to be going a little slower than my usual 2mph pace. Not sure what to expect on the day. Maybe adrenaline and the tides will speed me up. Maybe not. My goal remains to finish healthy.

The day before the swim we get a tour of the route on a boat so we can see exactly where we’ll be swimming, what landmarks to head for, which islands to stay close to, and what points we have to reach in an hour, two hours, etc. so we can finish before the tide turns.

My only concern at this point is the water temperature. We heard the water was 59 degrees at one point last week. Today’s reading of 66 degrees would make for a much more comfortable four hours (maybe five?) in the water. You can check the temp at the National Data Buoy Center website. Look for station 44013 (LLNR 420) Boston 16 NM East of Boston MA. https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44013

Thanks again for your support! Every dollar makes a difference. Oh no, I sound like a politician!

July 20, 2026

Hi y'all,

Training going well. Did a 6 mile swim yesterday in Long Pond, Wellfleet, which seems like a pair of ponds that somehow got connected by a very shallow strait. The full distance across pond A, through the strait, and across pond B to the far beach is half a mile, so back and forth is a mile. It took me about a half hour per mile. I got out after each mile, ate half a banana, took a few sips of electrolyte water, and jumped back in for the next lap. Easy not to lose count of laps; just count the bananas. I said hi several times to a cormorant hanging out on a floating dock watching me swim. No response.

Planning one more long swim next week. Will try for 4 hours. Meanwhile doing a daily swim of about an hour. I'll try squeeze another 90min 3 mile swim in the 50m pool again one morning this week.

Thank you for your donations to the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee. We've raised over $3,000 and are getting very close to our fundraising goal. If you'd still like to donate, there's plenty of time, and no amount is too small. Seriously, even a single dollar makes a difference.

Whatever you're doing, keep going!
Ethan

July 14, 2026

Hi friends, family, and fellow humans,

Thanks for the generous donations! We're already over $2k and well on our way to the goal of $3600.

Training going well. Had a few days off on the weekend since I had three gigs and wanted to husband my energy for the shows, but Monday morning I swam 104 x 50m in the Mccarren pool in 1 hour 25 minutes so, 5200m at a 26min/mile pace, which is a bit faster than I usually swim. Planning on/hoping for 29min/mile pace on 8/4. Three weeks until the swim and I'm gonna keep doing about a mile and a half or two miles per day, plus one long swim per week (planning a 2.5 hour swim, and a 3 hour swim, and possibly one a little bit longer), and one rest day per week. I'll be upstate NY mid next week for the borscht belt fest and I may try to find a lake up there for one of the long swims. Ordered a floating donut shaped thermos to schlep behind me while I swim, so I can drink/eat every half hour during the long training swims without getting out of the water or having someone wade out into the water to give me food and drink. My plan for 8/4 is for the kayaker to give me a drink and a bite every half hour. So I expect about 6 of those feedings.

Stay cool.
Ethan

About CEOC

For over 60 years, CEOC has served as Cambridge's anti-poverty nonprofit. They have empowered more than 325,000 Cambridge families to live healthier, more secure lives beyond poverty. CEOC's mission is to empower people and communities to achieve economic stability while addressing the systemic causes of poverty. To do this, they provide wrap-around bundled services to address basic needs, including a food pantry that serves nearly 400 people per week, health insurance assistance, help with housing, financial education/coaching, wellness support, navigation through the maze of public benefits (including SNAP, SSI, TANF, and more), free tax preparation, and financial assistance for emergencies. By consolidating services and eliminating barriers to access, participants can gain access to more benefits and support than they would in more siloed organizations. To learn more about CEOC, check our their 2025 annual report here.