Broker to Swim Lake Tahoe

Ken Harmon to attempt a world record
By PAULA PARISOT
8/17/2005

On Monday, a 45 year old mortgage broker will attempt to set a new world record by swimming across Lake Tahoe.

Ken Harmon is swimming the 22 mile length of the lake, located in the Sierra Nevada, with the anticipation of completing it in less than 12 hours. Harmon said his inspiration to do the swim is to raise $100,000 to build a 50-meter community pool for the Danville Aquatic Center.

The aquatic center will be located at San Ramon Valley High School, coincidentally where Harmon's 8-year-old son will attend as a teenager.

"I always said if I did anything like this," Harmon said, "it would have to be for charity.""Ken's Tahoe Crossing" is slated for Monday August 22 and will begin around 6:00 a.m. with a starting point at Camp Richardson (South Tahoe) and finishing up at the Hyatt Hotel beach in Incline Village, Nev. between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

"Ken's Tahoe Crossing" is slated for Monday August 22 and will begin around 6:00 a.m. with a starting point at Camp Richardson (South Tahoe) and finishing up at the Hyatt Hotel beach in Incline Village, Nev. between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Harmon said he is closing about $2.5 million a month at Alamo, Calif.-based Residential Pacific Mortgage, where he has worked as a licensed broker for the past 10 years.

He explained he has broken the swim up into 20 half hour increments in which he will take nutrition breaks. Unable to touch the chase boats, ropes, or any other apparatus, Harmon said, his wife, while kayaking next to him will hand over his Gatorade and Gu (concentrated glucose supplement), which will keep him energized throughout the swim.

A physician and additional crew will follow in the chase boat along with two other swimmers who will take turns swimming alongside Harmon in 1/2 hour increments every other hour and a half to keep him alert and focused, he said. A special GPS system will be used to keep Harmon and the team on a straight and narrow path.

"I've got a great crew and we've taken special care in setting up this event and making sure it gets documented properly," Harmon told MortgageDaily.com. "We have been contacted by quite a few people who say they have made this swim but only four have been documented."

"But one thing is loud and clear," he added. "No one has done it in under 12 hours -- and I'll probably be the oldest."

Harmon, who had received a scholarship to play water polo for the University of Pacific in Stockton said he now swims about 200 laps or an hour and a half, five to six days a week. He said he is thankful for his job in the mortgage industry, which gives him the flexibility to prepare for and execute this charity swim. "The mortgage industry has created the ability for me to do this," he said. "It would be hard for me to do it if I weren't self employed -- that's the beauty of the business -- you pretty much get to work what you need to work."

Which is a good thing because recovery from the swim could take up to a week, Harmon said.

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