SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — For most people, swimming a mile for fun, might not be all that fun.
But for Jack Poulson’s 80th birthday, it’s all he wanted to do.
“So far I feel good,” Poulson told News 3 Now in the middle of his mile Sunday morning. “This is kind of normal, doing 20 laps is kind of regular, doing 36 is going to be a major challenge, but yeah, so far I feel good.”
But 36 laps is actually going back and forth 72 times; his daughter Amanda said if he was feeling good after 72, he would push for 80 — 80 laps for 80 years.
Poulson eventually finished his swim in under 1.5 hours.
His daughter said he swims 0.5 miles three times a week at the Sun Prairie YMCA, but to celebrate his milestone birthday, he decided to push for a mile.
To add extra motivation, Poulson set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Porchlight, Inc., which works with people experiencing homelessness in Dane County.
Through the GoFundMe and private donations, Poulson said her dad raised more than $4,000.
If you would like, the page will remain up and collect donations for Porchlight.
Poulson celebrated his mile Sunday afternoon with cake.
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