Posted: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:53 PM - 8,029 Readers

By: Pamela LeBlanc

Who out there listens to Mix 94.7?

If you do, you know that the disc jockeys from the “JB and Sandy Show” have been busy lately tackling physical challenges. One ran 10 miles, another rode 100 miles on a bike, a third did a gut-wrenching gym workout. And this morning, JB Hager swam 4.1 miles from the Pennybacker Bridge to Abel’s on the Lake near the Tom Miller Dam.



photos by austin360.com

I water ski on Lake Austin nearly every Tuesday morning, and as my husband Chris and I headed up the river to get in some slalom turns, we spotted JB and his crew. JB had just started his challenge. At that point he was cruising downstream like a freight train, ducks and catfish leaping out of the way. (You can slide me a $5 for that one later, bud!)

Worried that the wake we were setting off might throw him off-course, we stopped for a quick hello and promised to catch up with him on our way in.

An hour later, we spotted JB again, near Mount Bonnell, the half-way point in his odyssey. Dude was still trucking along scaring the wildlife out of the way.

We slowed our boat so I could leap into the water and chase him for a few minutes. I don’t think he even noticed me alongside of him until he paused to slurp down a packet of Gu and sip some water (other than what was in the lake.)

I was impressed. Two miles in and he barely whined. His shoulder was giving him trouble, as shoulders will do when you crank on them for extended periods of time. We chatted a minute, said hi to his support kayaker Tim and waved at the rest of the radio show crew. (They were kicked back on a follow boat, eating French toast and sipping mimosas while JB continued to burn calories.)

Attached are some photos of JB the first time we saw him and later, when I jumped in to share a few minutes of fun with him.

JB successfully completed his swim, just as I knew he would. Way to go JB!

His time? A respectable 2 hours and 35 minutes. “I had the wind at my back,” he said.

JB and Sandy had special motivation to undertake their challenges. “Part of it was Sandy and I knew we were going to be starting TV in October, and this was a little kick in pants to take better care of ourselves,” JB said.

Good enough.

So what can we take from this? If JB can do it, if Sandy can do it, if Alex can do it, if Sarah can do it … you can too!

Get out there and challenge yourself to something you didn’t think you could do. It’ll do you — and your attitude — a world of good.

*  Story Contributed by: Pamela LeBlanc