I Am Northwest Arkansas® When A Pool Cannot Hold You Maybe A Lake Will - A Conversation About Open Water Swimming in Northwest Arkansas with Bonnie Adams The Founder of Swim Oz
About the Show:
Swimming is one of my favorite exercises. I don’t get to do it often, but I feel at home in the water. Our guest, Bonnie Adams, is the Founder of Joys of Swimming and Swim OZ, and she feels the same way about swimming.
Located in Bentonville and originally from Oklahoma, Bonnie has been swimming since she was a kid. A former University of Arkansas Swim Team member, Bonnie has not met a pool that could hold her.
Her love of swimming and competition is probably one of the reasons that she created the Swim OZ Open Water swimming event, known as the Walmart OZ Mile. If you’ve spent time on Beaver Lake, you know what a fun time that can be!
Imagine doing an Open Water swim in Beaver Lake for time and achievement. That was Bonnie’s original dream when she created the Walmart OZ Mile event to find another way to enjoy the natural scenery and beauty of Northwest Arkansas and the Natural State.
Open-water swimming is a bit of a different animal, especially when you do it in the Ocean - think Ironman triathlons. A lake can be equally challenging when it comes to open-water swimming and the second year of the Walmart OZ Mile event will be no exception.
The race features a one-mile triangular route around the Beaver Lake Dam and is open to all ages and levels of swimmers. In 2021, swimmers from around the state descended on Northwest Arkansas for the only sanctioned open-water swimming event in the Natural state.
Since the inaugural Swim OZ open water race, Bonnie is not looking back. Swim OZ has created a weekend of activities and events surrounding the race, and participants from as far away as the West Coast have registered for this year’s event. Bonnie has found her niche.
If you are free on Sunday, September 25th, 2022, we have a special rate for your registration for the Walmart OZ Mile if you or someone you know wants to participate in the race. For a discount, visit the Walmart OZ Mile to register and enter the listener coupon code IANWA.
We hope to see you there this year and in the future. Happy swimming!
The Walmart OZ Mile:
Sunday, September 25, 2022, Beaver Lake Dam Site, Eureka Springs, AR
All this and more on this episode of the I am Northwest Arkansas podcast.
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ONBoardNWA.com
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