After months of preparation, a Kalamazoo man named Scott Lacey man is heading north to set a Michigan milestone.
He’s set to become the first visually impaired person to swim around Mackinac Island, a journey of more than eight miles.
He’s putting in lap after lap at the Bronson Athletic Club to prepare for the waves north of the Mitten.
“When I started in November, I might have been swimming 30 to 45 minutes at a time,” Lacey said. “And this weekend, I’m up to five hours is what I swam yesterday in the pool.”
Lacey is a lifelong athlete who lost his sight in his mid-20s. Afterwards he started walking, initially as a way to relieve stress.
That eventually turned into jogging, then long-distance running, then competing in the Boston Marathon and Ironman competitions.
He calls the hours-long swim next weekend a chance to prove to himself that he can do it, and to show that endurance sports can be done with or without visual impairments.
“Anybody can do most anything,” Lacey said. “You might do it a little differently. But if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can make it happen.”
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