Sun Lakes resident Gary Sanford steps out of the water after completing the 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco Bay shore August 8.
Gary Vacin
Sun Lakes resident Gary Sanford successfully completed the 1.5 mile Alcatraz Sharkfest swim from the former federal prison in San Francisco Bay to the shore at the Aquatic Club in San Francisco on August 8.
Sanford completed the swim in 47:30.08 minutes. That placed the 62-year-old in the top half of 598 swimmers in the wetsuit division. The winner, a 17-year-old youth, finished in a time of just over 27 minutes.
More than 800 swimmers participated in the event in 60 degree temperatures.
Sanford, who has been swimming since his high school days, said he got serious about entering the race last December. He began training for the event by swimming up to six miles a week, mostly at the Cottonwood lap pool, losing 30 pounds in the process.