Endurance athlete to swim Lake Tahoe for charity

Former South Lake Tahoe resident and endurance athlete, Ric Llewellyn, has planned a Lake Tahoe swim from Emerald Bay to Nevada Beach on August 24, all in the name of charity. He wants to raise awareness and financial support for Finding HUP, a charitable foundation serving athletes with spinal cord injuries.

"My friend, Mark Bender, was injured in a body surfing accident in 2013," said Ric. "I was moved by the fact that he has already taken on the mission of supporting others, even though he and his family are still struggling to adapt to his own injury. This swim is something I can do to help."

As Ric prepared for the event, he learned that the Tahoe area has a charitable foundation in Truckee, the High Fives Foundation, doing the same kind of work Mark has taken on. High Fives has been around since 2009 and has served as an inspiration for Mark and FindingHUP.org.

Ric and his wife, Nondy, love to visit the lake, but this time the swim will represent the grueling physical and mental challenges athletes must overcome when they suffer a spinal cord injury.

Ric will depart the beach at Vikingsholm Wednesday, August 24th, at dawn. He expects to arrive at Nevada Beach in Round Hill four and a half hours later.

They are working on a link where people can donate directily, but in the meantime, Llewellyn can be reached at marathon4mark@gmail.com.

Follow his preparations and the adventure on Facebook at Marathon4Mark.

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