But this time, he was seeking to benefit others, too.

“In these last 10 years, I went through a divorce, I moved, and just had a lot of personal stuff that I went through,” Scott said. “So turning 50 feels kind of more reflective. I wanted to do something big, but I wanted to do it in a way where I could give back.”

So now, Scott is riding his bicycle 588 miles across Virginia — and raising money for charity — to celebrate his 50 years.

It all began in early 2023, when Scott — a former college English teacher who now runs a fledgling business called Fennario Coffee Roasters — began talking to one of his new customers at the Farmer’s Market in Hilton Village.

That customer, Caroline Dutle, is the director of development at THRIVE Peninsula, a nonprofit that provides food and financial, housing and utilities assistance for those in need.

When THRIVE received a large whole-bean coffee donation a few months later, Dutle thought of her “coffee guy” and asked Scott if he’d be willing to grind the beans down before it’s given away.

“Most of our clients can’t afford coffee, let alone a coffee grinder,” Dutle said. “So a donation isn’t too helpful if it’s in bean form.”

Scott immediately said yes.

“He came to check out our facility, and has been really active and involved in supporting us ever since,” Dutle said. “So it all started with coffee beans.”

Scott took the beans home, ground them up and returned them in packages, ready for distribution. Though most consider coffee a staple, she said, for others it’s a “luxury item.”

“Any time we can provide things beyond the necessities, it’s a real treat for our clients,” Dutle said.

THRIVE Peninsula was founded 50 years ago by several churches in Newport News’ Denbigh section, and still considers itself a Christian-based organization. But Scott said he was drawn to the fact that the nonprofit helps people of all faiths — or no faith.

“I am sensitive to people telling me what to do or trying to evangelize me,” Scott said. “But (faith) doesn’t affect who gets help or who doesn’t get help. The only thing that you have to do is qualify financially.”

“And once I saw how selfless and giving these people are, the volunteers, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to be involved in this somehow.’ ”

THRIVE has a pantry where people can come once a month by appointment and get about a week’s worth of groceries. It also offers financial assistance and coaching.

So when it came time for Scott to mark his 50th birthday, he decided he wanted THRIVE to be the recipient of a charity event. He came to Dutle with a concept: He’d bike 500 miles to raise $5,000 and 500 pounds of food — all multiples of 50 — to benefit the organization.

Dutle liked the idea, and helped him put the plan — and the fundraising mechanisms — into action.

It began Saturday morning at Breaks Interstate Park near the Kentucky and Virginia border. Scott will then trek the Virginia portion of the TransAmerica Trail — 588 miles — over nine days. That’s about 65 miles a day.

The route will take him south to Damascus, then northeast to Radford, Christiansburg and Lexington. He will hit the Blue Ridge Parkway, then Charlottesville, Ashland and Richmond before heading back to Hampton Roads.

Scott can be followed online in real time — at www.tinyurl.com/heathwatch — as he makes his way through the commonwealth.

Though Scott has done lengthy rides in the past, this will be the longest. He said the first several days — where the route is most mountainous — will be the most challenging.

Luckily, Scott is no stranger to physical exertion. He has been an ultra distance runner in the past. And over the past couple years, his coffee business includes a guarantee to deliver the java the next day anywhere in Newport News by bike. That also ensures he’s getting in his daily rides.

“Rain and snow doesn’t stop me,” he said. “I had a broken rib last year, and was out delivering on the bike … so it’s gonna take a lot to stop me.”

THRIVE, for one, is appreciative.

“I think it’s just such a superhuman feat that Heath is taking on, and this is just an amazing opportunity for us to be recognized in this way,” Dutle said Friday. “He’s really garnered a lot of support within the community, and it’s been very helpful to THRIVE.”

Scott will carry a tent and sleeping bag, and plans to camp on his route. It’ll be a mixture of “stealth camping” — finding a spot in wooded areas along the way — and campgrounds, and a hotel for his night in Richmond.

He’ll bring a couple days’ worth of trail food with plans to replenish in small towns along the way.

“It’s all back roads, and you’re never more than an hour or two ride from any kind of convenience store,” Scott explained.

A friend plans to meet him Thursday at the Blue Ridge Parkway to help him resupply and offer moral support. Scott’s wife, Woodside High School art teacher Heidi Compton, will meet him in the evenings starting that same night.

He plans to be back on or about Sept. 15 — his 50th birthday.

Road construction on the Capital Trail will prevent Scott from finishing at the end of the cross-country TransAmerica trail in Yorktown. So he plans to end the route at the THRIVE building on Nettles Drive in Newport News, likely arriving by way of Warwick Boulevard.

Scott has already surpassed his initial $5,000 fundraising goal. That’s in large part because of Priority Bicycles, the New York-based company that makes the bike he’s riding, a belt-driven Priority 600.

“I’ve seen them do charitable work, on everything from suicide prevention to getting kids on bikes,” Scott said of the company. “I sent them a letter explaining what I was doing, and they didn’t hesitate. They got back to me within 24 hours and said, ‘We’d love to help out.’ ”

Scott asked Priority to donate a less expensive bicycle than the $2,500 one that Scott will be riding. “And they came right back and said, ‘No, let’s do the Priority 600,’ They completely donated it, no strings attached.'”

The bike will be raffled off as part of the fundraising effort. Tickets are selling for $25 apiece or five for $100, with all proceeds counting toward the $5,000 goal. And last week, an anonymous local family kicked in $2,630 — at the time just enough to hit the $5,000 mark.

“Their anonymity will be respected, but we can assure you that they are one of the most wonderful families we’ve had had the honor to get to know,” Scott wrote on his coffee company’s Instagram page. “They are true models of how to be a good human.”

The fundraiser is now up to $5,370 and counting, with 100% of the proceeds going to THRIVE.

Canned goods and other non-perishables are being collected at THRIVE (12749 Nettles Drive) or Village Bicycles (9913 Warwick Blvd.). Both are in Newport News.

“I’m just really excited,” he said Friday before leaving for the Kentucky border. “I’m pretty humbled by the outpouring of support from folks and the interest from folks. I was doing this as a kind of a small way to help try and raise some money, and the swell of support that I’ve gotten from the community, it’s just been unbelievable.”

THRIVE will host a community day Sept. 22 with Scott, featuring refreshments, a mobile coffee bar and an opportunity to learn more about the organization’s mission. That’s also when the donated bicycle will be raffled off.

To contribute or buy a raffle ticket for the bike, go to the donation website, “50 to 5000: Heath’s Trans-Virginia Birthday Ride for THRIVE,” at givebutter.com/HeathsRide4THRIVE.

“Trading river views for mountains tomorrow,” Scott wrote Thursday on Instagram, with a picture of his bicycle near the James River. “Who knows what adventures lay ahead?”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

The TV personality died from accidental traumatic injuries, with preexisting cardiovascular disease contributing, according to a news release.

The fitness instructor experienced a fall two days before his death and was found unresponsive on his bedroom floor after spending the previous day in bed. The matter has officially been ruled an accident, the release states.

According to his longtime housekeeper, Simmons said he felt dizzy after the fall. Family spokesperson Tom Estey told People in a statement the toxicology report came back negative other than for medications Simmons had been prescribed.

“The world has truly lost an angel,” Estey reportedly went on to say.

Last month, TMZ reported Simmons refused to seek medical attention after the fall.

The medical examiner’s office said their full medical report will be ready at the end of the month.

Over his life, Simmons produced dozens of fitness tapes, and love for his weight-loss methods spanned generations. Known for his memorable style and warm presence, his death spawned an outpouring of condolences.

After Simmons’ death, his brother, Lenny Simmons, told the magazine he did not want people to be sad.

“I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people,” the brother said. “He called, wrote and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help.”

“I don’t believe Carlos would be here right now (without cycling),” said his wife, Coretta Rodriguez. “I don’t think that he would be alive today because prior to riding, nothing mattered really. It just seemed like he was existing.”

Rodriguez, who has lived in Hampton since December 2000, enrolled in the Marine Corps fresh out of high school and spent 10 years in the military before being medically discharged in 1995. That time in the service left him with more problems, issues and illnesses than he can count, including injuries to his back, knees, arms and shoulders, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“I was a mess,” he said.

For the past few years, he’s been showing others how cycling can save their lives, too. He often rides more than 10,000 miles a year, topping 20,000 in 2022, most of them on benefit rides for disabled veterans groups. Due to his painful injuries, he does it all on a recumbent bicycle, where the rider is reclined.

“My motivation now is to try to help other veterans and give them a better quality of life,” he said. “That’s what (cycling has) done for me.”

His next big ride is the Great Lakes Challenge, which starts Monday and runs through Aug. 24. It is organized by Project Hero, a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 that benefits veterans and first responders. The approximately 500-mile ride goes from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, to Madison, Wisconsin.

Rodriguez’s devotion to fellow disabled veterans has taken him from California to Puerto Rico and many places in between. For him, it’s a second calling.

“I got to do this,” he said.

Cycling gives him purpose

Rodriguez was injured in a Scud missile attack in Saudi Arabia in 1991 in the first Gulf War. In the first 15 years after he was discharged, he admittedly didn’t do much other than visit doctors and specialists to get diagnosis and treatment for his injuries and symptoms. He was a regular at the Hampton Veterans Administration Medical Center when one of his doctors suggested he go to Richmond for more intense treatment. That was around 2011.

“At that time, I was borderline diabetic, high cholesterol. You name it, I had it,” he said.

While in the military, Rodriguez, who stands 5 feet, 6 inches, weighed about 175 pounds. But he slowly got up to 307.

One of the doctors in Richmond was an endurance athlete who worked with an adaptive sports program and recommended their cycling program.

“She started me off on a handcycle because my legs were so bad,” he said. “At this time, I was also in a wheelchair.”

It wasn’t long before he transitioned to a recumbent bicycle, doing 6- to 10-mile rides in Richmond. A few years later, he was doing 15- to 20-mile rides. Twenty-mile rides turned into 30 miles, then 40 and eventually 50.

Meanwhile, Project Hero, a nonprofit based in California, was organizing rides across the country to benefit veterans. Rodriguez and two therapists from Richmond helped create a Project Hero hub in Richmond, a first for the organization.

Once other hubs got started around the country, the idea of weeklong “challenge” rides of 300 miles or more soon followed.

“It really did help a lot of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries,” Rodriguez said.

Those rides have made a world of difference.

“One of the things you lose when you get out of the military is a sense of purpose,” Rodriguez said.

His wife has noticed a positive change.

“Prior to riding, Carlos was in a very depressed state of mind,” she said. “Carlos now seems like he has a sense of purpose. He enjoys the camaraderie. He enjoys being with the other folks. He enjoys the brotherhood.”

Coretta, who met Carlos when they were in high school, has known him for 40 years and they have been married for more than 30. He has gone back to his old self.

“He’s more outgoing. He’s talking to people now. Whereas before, he was very withdrawn,” she said.

Early this year, Rodriguez was named president of the Peninsula Bicycling Association. He leads a weekly Saturday morning ride out of Hampton and is one of the most gregarious people on those rides.

“He still has his days,” his wife said. “But I can always tell when he’s been riding or is getting ready to go ride. He just lights up. It’s beautiful to see.”

An inspiration

On his benefit rides, Rodriguez has ridden with double amputees and those using handcycles.

“Trust me, I’ve seen some amazing stuff, really inspiring,” Rodriguez said.

At a ride in California in October, Rodriguez and a friend provided the inspiration to a former homeless veteran who met them at a previous ride.

“She told me her story and I was in tears,” he said. “She said the only reason she came back was because she was inspired by us.”

He hears similar stories at nearly every ride.

Coretta, who sometimes volunteers at the rides, has seen how other riders look up to her husband.

“As a wife and an outsider of the biking world, it is beautiful to see the amount of respect that he receives,” she said.

It’s something he doesn’t take lightly.

“I know he respects it. It’s like, ‘Wow, these people are looking up to me. These people are expecting this of me, so I can’t mess up,’” she said. “He doesn’t have time to go into that dark hole anymore.”

Todd Setter has been with Project Hero since 2015 and its executive director since 2018. He met Rodriguez a few years ago and they ride together three times a year. It’s on those rides, many 80-100 miles a day, that Setter sees the effect Carlos has on others, especially when he’s pedaling his recumbent up a hill.

“Just what the recumbents go through, from downhill with the speed, they can pass you, but the uphill, the amount of effort they have to put out because that bike weighs more, that’s always an inspiration,” Setter said. “That’s a great aspect and culture that he creates in the events themselves.”

Rodriguez is down to about 195 pounds, bench presses 300 pounds and his best in the leg press is 1,325 pounds (and that was after having both knees replaced six months apart in 2018).

“He’s always ready and in shape for the ride, no matter how grueling it is,” Setter said.

Family approach

While his rides require him to spend time away from his wife and their four children (ages 20 to 27), the events have become a family affair.

“When Carlos is preparing to go on these rides, we all fundraise on his behalf. We get so excited,” Coretta said.

Then when Carlos is on the rides, he provides regular updates.

“(Our) children are just so proud of him and they glow when they’re talking about his rides and they’re sharing the pictures that he sends,” she said. “I think it’s brought our family closer together. That disconnect that we once had, it’s no longer there.”

She admits it’s not easy, but everyone knows how important the rides are to him.

“I think they truly understand how much this has helped Carlos on the mental side,” she said. “We knew the term PTSD. We knew depression. But we didn’t have a full grasp of it.”

When the children were younger, it was difficult for Coretta to explain things to them. Now that they’re older, they have done their own research.

“We’ve all talked about it or say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s why dad was this way.’ There’s an explanation now,” she said. “They understand why he was and is the way he is, whereas before it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this man is crazy.’ ”

He gives a lot of credit to his family.

“The good thing is that my wife sees what it means to me. She really supports me,” he said. “My kids do too. They help me.”

He’s come a long way.

“I’m definitely in a better place than where I was,” he said. “And I think cycling definitely helped me.”

The St. Patrick’s Day tradition includes a 26.2-mile marathon and a half-marathon, an 8K, kids’ one-mile race, fitness expo and a host of activities for runners and onlookers. More than 20,000 runners and spectators from all 50 states and 16 countries came out to the 52nd annual event March 15-17, bringing in $22 million in economic impact to the city, the organizers said.

“We’re so blessed to have the communities that come out to cheer on the runners — the entire city gets behind it,” organizer Amy Frostick said of the Shamrock. “I feel like everybody deserves a medal that weekend.”

Nancy Helman, director of the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a news release that the city is grateful for J&A Racing’s partnership.

“They produce events throughout the year that boost not only the city’s economy, but spirit, too,” she said.

The Shamrock is just one of many running events organized in Hampton Roads by Jerry and Amy Frostick — the J&A behind the name of the Virginia Beach-based race management company. They hired Scott Minto, director of the Sports Master of Business Administration program at San Diego State University, to study the race’s economic impact.

The couple, who met through their shared love of running, have put in years of blood, sweat and tears to propel their business’s continued growth since its founding in 2003 — the same year they took over the Shamrock.

Their race portfolio has also grown to include eight other events: ADP Corporate 5K; Getem Services Big Blue 5K; Crawlin’ Crab Half Marathon and 5K; Old Point National Bank Wicked 10K; Chartway Norfolk Harbor Half Marathon, 10K and 5K; BayPort Credit Union Surf-N-Santa 5 Miler; Sun Up to Sun Down 50K; and the new Chartway Virginia Beach 10 Miler and 5K.

Each one of these races brings participants and their families and friends to the area who spend money at local hotels, restaurants and stores. For instance, the business said more than 14,700 hotel room nights were booked at the Oceanfront for this year’s Shamrock.

“We are proud to host an event that not only brings the community together but also supports our local businesses and economy,” the Frosticks said.

And they’re delighted that things have returned to pre-pandemic numbers and normalcy. Specializing in mass gatherings, the Frosticks said they did their best during the pandemic to focus on the positive and connect runners via virtual challenges uploaded online.

“The Shamrock was actually one of the first events in the country that had to be canceled,” Amy Frostick said.

In 2021, they organized a hybrid Shamrock, and by that fall, race events returned in full glory.

“We’re happy that chapter’s closed,” she said.

“But, it kind of recharged and recommitted us,” Jerry Frostick added.

They saw that new runners became attracted to the sport and were excited that people were looking for new ways to get and stay healthy — both physically and mentally. Celebration parties have become more of a festival than the typical medal at the finish line.

“Since we’ve been back, we’ve been focusing on creating experiences more than putting on ‘on your mark, get set, go’ races,” he said.

As for expanding beyond Hampton Roads, Jerry Frostick said they have been approached multiple times to create races in other regions of the country.

“We love where we live and I think what makes us special is the passion we have for where we live,” he said. “I don’t know that we could share that passion in other locations.”

He said they started out 23 years ago striving to be the best — not the biggest. He stressed that putting on running events in Hampton Roads is not work but rather what they love to do.

“The hugs, smiling faces, high-fives and tears at the finish line are what still drives us,” Jerry Frostick said.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com

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By the numbers

2024 Shamrock stats:

• 160,186 miles run
• 262 kegs tapped
• 1,500-plus volunteers
• 1 marriage proposal
• 50 states represented
• 16 countries represented
• 16,000 Uncrustables eaten
• Oldest participant: 89 years (TowneBank Shamrock 8K)
• Youngest participant: 9 months (Leprechaun Dash)

(Source: J&A Racing)

The 34-year-old certified personal trainer incorporates biblical principles into his coaching. He specializes in corrective exercise, nutrition, weight loss, behavior change and solutions for healthy living.

“My faith plays a major role in my life,” Gay said. “It’s something that moves people to take action despite obstacles. It moves beyond logic and fear to grab hold of what potentially lies before us.”

Gay, whose his faith is rooted in Jesus, said he wants to point people toward more than just a smaller waistline. Tying faith and fitness together is how he’s managed to help so many clients create a healthy lifestyle.

“I help people connect their health habits to their deepest convictions and cares,” he said. “It makes the fitness journey more meaningful and longer lasting.”

When Gay first became a health coach in 2013, he spent lots of money on supplements, read many bodybuilding magazines and followed other fitness influencers on YouTube. He even dabbled in testosterone.

Eventually, he stopped following everyone’s advice and looked to the Scriptures for answers. Once he started making biblical connections with his health practices, Gay said his life changed.

In 2020, he started Fit Church United and began integrating biblical principals into his coaching program. He’s hosted numerous free workouts around Hampton Roads in partnership with local churches to offer fitness, fellowship and encouragement.

His program uses an approach called the Kingdom Fit Blueprint. While rooted in the teachings of the Bible, the strategies are also backed by science. The program is broken down into five pillars: biblical nutrition, cardio and steps, resistance training, sleep and recovery and commitment to God.

“Matthew’s Fit Church workouts have been great for our congregation and furnish a vital part of Christian ministry that is often overlooked — holistic care,” said Steven Roby, pastor of Water’s Edge Church in Virginia Beach. “In a day where more and more people are living with unnecessary chronic illnesses due to poor health habits, Matthew has a critical message with practical solutions regarding things needed for the body.”

Gay recently released a book called “FIT Church: Destroying the Division between Following Christ and Living a Healthy Life” that presents the case for a Christ-centered approach to health and fitness. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, the book is a comprehensive guide on how to balance physical and spiritual health. Readers can find the book at Amazon.com, the Apple iTunes store or Barnes and Noble.

“The pillars in my program support the lifestyle and goals of every client,” Gay said. “They look different from person to person. They are fundamental to the success of everyone I work with.”

For more information, visit fitchurchunited.com.

Lee Belote, jlbelote@verizon.net

“Staying active, even exercising in hot weather, can be done safely, but you really have to pay attention to the environment and your body to make sure a good thing doesn’t go bad,” says Chaun Cox, M.D. , a Mayo Clinic Health System Family Medicine physician and an avid runner.

Here are a few tips from Dr. Cox for exercising in the heat.

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Know the weather.

If you haven’t been exercising in hot weather already this summer, don’t choose a hot day to start. Your body needs to acclimate to the heat, so start with shorter periods of exercise and gradually extend the duration of your workout.

High humidity prevents sweat from readily evaporating from this skin, which puts added stress on your body. And pay attention to the forecast — and the sky. Severe weather can develop rather quickly, and there are no extra points for trying to outrun a thunderstorm or tornado.

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Stay hydrated.

Your body cools itself by sweating, and if you stay hydrated, the body is pretty good at cooling itself.

When you become dehydrated, your body starts to store heat inside. Your core temperature begins to increase, and that can put your organs and nervous system at risk. Drink water before, during and after you exercise. Additionally, make sure you have food throughout the day.

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Slow down.

Don’t try to keep up your normal pace and intensity in hot weather.

Get comfortable knowing you’ll have to take things a bit easier when the mercury rises. Save your goal of setting a personal best for another, cooler day. Don’t think you have to keep up with your running or workout buddies — at least until the temperature cools off a bit.

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Dress smart.

Clothing for exercise or working out in hot weather should permit evaporation of sweat from your skin.

Wear light-colored, lightweight and loose-fitting items. Clothing also can help protect your skin from the sun, along with plenty of sunscreen.

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Listen to your body.

The old adage “no pain, no gain” is false. You should slow down or stop exercising at the first sign of discomfort.

Other warning signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, muscle cramps, fatigue, weakness and dizziness. Heat stroke, which is more serious, may be indicated by a rapid, weak pulse, confusion and loss of consciousness. If you experience any of these warning signs of heat stroke, call 911 immediately, or alert someone to make the call on your behalf.

Summer fun can include outdoor exercise and workouts. The trick is to be smart about it. By following some simple tips, you’ll get more out of your time outdoors and reduce the risks associated with hot weather.

The Aug. 17 event features a new route that starts and finishes in front of the museum. Check-in begins at 7 a.m., with the race officially kicking off at 8 a.m.

The event is open to both seasoned runners and casual walkers of all ages, with registration priced at $30 per individual, with special discounted rates available for teams of three or more and for students and those who are under 18.

The event raises funds for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula’s Health and Wellness initiatives, including Smart Smiles Dental Care and fitness programming.

Event organizers are accepting applications for local vendors ahead of the event. See bagclub.com for more information.

She didn’t swim seriously again until about 10 years ago, when a friend coaxed her into the ocean — with Gubser resisting all the way.

On Saturday, Gubser, 55, became the first person, male or female, to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands. It was a journey of 29.7 miles through roiling, freezing, famously shark-infested waters.

In celebrating Gubser’s achievement, the Marathon Swimmers Federation noted that the feat “has a reasonable claim to be the toughest marathon swim in the world.” Though five other people have been recorded as swimming solo across the Gulf of the Farallones, Gubser is the first to do it heading west to east — a more difficult journey because colder water temperatures near the islands hit swimmers when they are at their most exhausted.

“I don’t think we all know what we’re capable of,” Gubser said this week, on her lunch break from her job at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, where she works in the fetal cardiac unit. She added that she hoped her feat would inspire other people to do hard things. Her own swim, she said, was dedicated to a brother and friends who are battling cancer.

The Farallones are a fog-shrouded, nautically menacing string of islands west of San Francisco that Native Americans believed were a home for the spirits of the dead. Though just off the coast of one of the world’s most famous cities, they are a national wildlife refuge, thus uninhabited, and closed to the public.

Gubser, who lives in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco, would look out and see them almost every day — provided they were visible.

“They’re mysterious. They’re creepy. They’re captivating,” she said. “I’m just drawn to them.”

But for a long time, Gubser wasn’t swimming anywhere, let alone across a gulf considered among the most treacherous in the world.

She had a swimming scholarship to the University of Michigan, where she was a backstroker. But when she left college, she left swimming as well.

Then, about 10 years ago, a friend challenged her to join him on an open-water swim. After some amount of cajoling, Gubser finally showed up to meet him at the South End Rowing Club, the famed open-water swim club in San Francisco just across the bay from Alcatraz.

“I started crying,” Gubser said, recalling that first day on the beach. “I was terrified. I put my feet in; my feet were freezing.” How was she going to put her whole body in that water?

Eventually, she got in and began to swim. And as she warmed up, something remarkable happened: “Every cell in my body was alive,” she said.

Almost from that day, she was hooked on open-water swimming.

She joined the South End Rowing Club for its annual swim from Alcatraz back to the club.

She swam beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and across Santa Monica Bay, and from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“It just felt so fun,” she said, adding that her children thought she was “absolutely bonkers.”

She swam around Manhattan, and from Ireland to Scotland, and from Spain to Africa.

But nearly every day, she would look out from her little town, and there the Farallones would be.

About five years ago, she decided she wanted to attempt it.

But achieving it, said Evan Morrison, the co-founder of the Marathon Swimmers Federation, requires not just incredible grit and hard training but also the right currents and weather conditions.

The area around the Farallones is a breeding ground for great white sharks, but in May many of them head elsewhere.

On May 11, with weather conditions judged to be favorable, Gubser got into the water just before 3:30 am. She wore a black and white swimsuit — an attempt to fool sharks into thinking she might be an orca — and a swim cap with a light on it, so her support team could see her.

The quest started late because a container ship came through.

But once she was in the water, Gubser began to swim. For the first four hours, she was lucky: An ebb tide carried her about 10 miles.

“I sang verses to songs,” she said. “I solved four or five world problems in my head.”

The remaining 19.7 miles would take another 13 hours.

When she began swimming, the water temperature was in the 50s. But in the cold currents that swirl around the Farollones, it reached 43 degrees at one point.

“I thought to myself, if I have to do this for much longer, I don’t know if I can,” she said. But she didn’t want to stop, either.

As Gubser swam, a crew followed her in a a small boat, tossing her nourishment at various intervals. One person kept an eye on her at all times, said Sarah Roberts, a friend and fellow open-water swimmer who was on the boat. Another person kept a sharp eye out for sharks.

The closer the group got to the islands, Larson said, the quieter and more intense everyone became.

The fog had descended, and there was “this sense of creepiness, of this wild, feral place.”

A few miles from the finish point, the group spotted a dead sea lion floating in the water. This gave everyone pause.

“There’s really only one reason for it to be dead,” Roberts noted, and that is “because something chomped it.”

Should they pull Gubser out of the water?

She kept swimming.

“They did not tell me [about that],” Gubser said. “Which was a good thing.”

She reached the buoy that was her endpoint just after sunset. The group on the boat erupted into cheers.

Gubser burst into tears. She yelled: “I did it.”

Gubser’s crew pulled her into the boat. Her skin was ice cold, Roberts said, and everyone went to work trying to warm her up, drenching her in warm water, plying her with hot tea, and eventually wrapping her in an electric blanket.

Roberts recalled hearing Gubser say something to the effect of: “I can’t believe I did that.”

Morrison, the co-founder of Marathon Swimmers, said Gubser is “a beloved member of the open-water swimming community” known for her enthusiasm and support for other swimmers.

“It couldn’t happen to a better person,” he said of her accomplishment.

One of Gubser’s teammates took detailed notes of her odyssey, and once they have been submitted to Marathon Swimmers and reviewed, her swim will be officially ratified, Morrison said.

By Tuesday, Gubser was sufficiently recovered that she was back at work.

What she wanted others to take from her swim, she said, was that almost anyone is capable of an astonishing feat.

She is 55, and a grandmother, to boot. “If I was in a room of elite athletes,” she said, “I would be extremely underwhelming.”

“I just think it is amazing that I can do this,” she added.

There is no monetary prize for the swim, and when asked if her life would change as a result of it, Gubser said: “I’m still at work today, aren’t I?”

Still, she will get one perk. As she swam toward the island, the Coast Guard radio traffic alerted a researcher on the Farallones that she was coming. The man walked down to the beach and took photos of her as she finished her swim. Then he invited her back for a special tour of the island.

She accepted, but said: “I’m not going to swim there.”

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“I had a deadline, and I thought, ’I don’t know if I can sit still this long,’” said Hutchins, who was working as a radio journalist.

At the urging of her father, a longtime practitioner, she tried again and managed to finish a 10-minute video on her third attempt. “I remember feeling this sense of joy and relaxation,” she said. “I used to be that person who said, ‘I can’t meditate.’”

Hutchins has since become a certified meditation teacher — and serves as an example that busy, restless people who try once should try again. Research shows a daily meditation practice can reduce anxiety, improve overall health and increase social connections, among other benefits.

The trick is to get over that initial barrier. Experts say it’s more achievable when you throw common misconceptions out the window. For instance, many people try meditation only once because they feel they’re doing it wrong or that they can’t turn off their brain.

That’s not the point, says Tara Brach, who holds a doctorate in psychology and has trained more than 7,000 people to be meditation teachers.

“It’s not about stopping thoughts. The mind generates thoughts the way body creates enzymes,” she said. “It’s about being able to get larger than the thoughts and witness them.”

START SIMPLE

There is no right way to meditate, Brach stressed.

The key is to relax and focus on something in the present moment. Feel your breath pass through your nostrils, listen to a guided recording, mentally scan your body from head to toe, repeat a loving phrase to yourself or try countless other techniques.

You can sit on the floor, in a chair or on a cushion. If you can’t get comfortable, lie down. You don’t even need to close your eyes, though it’s recommended to try.

There is no standard amount of time to begin with, but set an achievable goal.

“You can customize it to who you are,” said Brach, author of several books, including “Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha.”

“Start with the most you can comfortably do without having to feel like you want to quit,” she said

That could mean starting with as little as a few minutes, said John Mitchell, an associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University who uses meditation to treat patients with ADHD. The goal should be working meditation into a routine and focusing on the quality of the practice, not the quantity.

“Then the question is, what do we do to create success so we can have momentum and start off without feeling like you’re failing right way?” he said.

WHEN YOU CAN’T SIT STILL

When you inevitably get distracted — everyone does — notice the thought or urge to move, acknowledge it and bring your attention back to where you are.

Instead of judging yourself, get curious for a minute about the nature of restlessness, Brach said. Ask yourself, “What does it really feel like if I want to jump out of my skin?”

Then take a long, deep breath, and sit for one more minute. If you still want to move, then move. But Brach recommended doing so mindfully. Stand up, do a light stretch, take a deep breath and sit again. You will be surprised at how that sense of restlessness will change over time, she said. “It will evolve.”

If the restlessness builds to a point where you are uncomfortable, consider taking a slow, meditative walk, Mitchell said. Stay alert but calm, focusing on the sounds, sights and smells around you, or maybe on the sensation of the wind and sun on your face.

“You’re not restricted,” he said. “You don’t have to sit there in silence and be still all the time.”

TOMORROW, AND THE NEXT DAY, TRY AGAIN

After sticking through the first session, you will almost certainly feel calmer, no matter the length. But to get the full benefits, as with exercise, research shows you need to practice consistently.

For people having trouble starting, that can be daunting, but Brach suggested trying a few techniques to find the right fit.

“It takes a bit of experimentation to find the style of meditation that works for your particular body, mind and personality,” she said.

Luckily, there’s a universe of free meditation resources online.

“Nobody reading this needs to go buy anything,” she said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Albert Stumm lives in Barcelona, Spain, and writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

Registrants will play in teams of two at the aquarium’s neighboring facility Pickleball Virginia Beach.

There will be three round-robin tournament divisions, beginner, intermediate and advanced. A free beginner’s clinic will be offered on June 12 at 6 p.m. to get warmed up before the tournament. The clinic is limited to 20 people.

Pick a partner and sign up for $150 per team. Registration includes a free drink ticket and snacks. Registrants will receive a complimentary commemorative T-shirt pictured with the aquarium’s very own moray eel, Pickles. Participants will also be entered to win a Sharks & Sea Turtles behind-the-scenes tour at the aquarium. Court sponsors are $250 and includes registration for a team in the tournament.

Proceeds will support the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation to provide quality care for the aquarium’s animals, offer educational programs, conduct research and conservation work and operate the nationally recognized Stranding Response Program.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams. Interested players and sponsors can register at virginiaaquarium.com.