Splash and Dash draws hundreds for icy (if brief) swim

It was 21 degrees this morning; the wind was from the northwest at 14 miles an hour. Snow covered every bit of North Beach, as far as the eye could see.

None of that deterred the hundreds of Splash and Dash participants intent on stripping to their bathing suits and running into Lake Michigan at noon.

These were not just kids; these were mature adults -- old enough to know better, as we used to say. Roger Keland, 60, was with his wife, Sue. "She's the macho one," he said.

Roger was Sue's support team -- "Like in football, you need someone to hold the ball for the kicker," he said. She had her bathing suit on under her track suit. "It's amazing," she said as she headed for the beach. But then a note of reality came through: "Last year, it was 45 degrees and there was sand on the beach..."

As the clock ticked down to noon -- with about 10 minutes to go -- the beach filled with hundreds -- yes, hundreds -- of people. Some in bathing suits; more were dressed for arctic winters in parkas and boots, usually carrying cameras and towels and dry clothes for the others. Announcer Mark Eichorst warned of ice, of a dropoff at the lake's edge, of keeping kids out this year. "If you don't want to go in, don't go," he said. "I'm sure your pledge people will still honor their pledges."

Two tents stood back from the water's edge, testament to the Ruud Lighting team's preparation: about 20 Ruud-ers were present, some with painted faces.

This year's Splash and Dash was the 19th running of an event that began in 1990 with eight firefighters. The last few years have raised more than $20,000 per year for charity; this year's recipients are the HALO homeless shelter, the Racine County Food Bank and the Kiwanis Foundation Scholarship Fund.

Jim Jedlicka of Racine, is 62, and wore a "Bucket List" cap -- a reminder of the new movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as a couple of terminally ill friends off on an adventure, trying to do all the things a man should do before he kicks the bucket. Crossed off Jedlicka's list today: swim in Lake Michigan on New Year's. "The question marks painted on my face are because I have no idea why I'm doing this," he said, to the encouragement of his wife and nephew.

Natalie Zierten of Racine, is 21, and convinced her friends Jenny Brantsen of Muskegon, MI, and Anna Kolber of Gurnee to join her. Anna participated last year, but this was to be Jenny's first time, "because Natalie said this is amazing!"

Splash 'n' Dash is not for procrastinators. It begins and ends in a frozen heartbeat. Given the "GO" command, the crowd rushes in, this year through the bottleneck of a small landing cut into the icy shore; a few brave souls dive into the water, most run into the lake about 50 feet, turn and immediately run out. Then the next wave takes their place. But when it was all over I looked at my watch: 12:05.

Melissa Udovicic, 32, happily displayed her participant's t-shirt after drying off and dressing again for winter. Going in was sort of an afterthought, she said. "I was here to watch friends ... and I had a swimsuit in my car, so I did it too."

And finally, there was Jim Contreras, 49, of Racine, standing toward the back of the crowd, holding a frozen red pair of boxer shorts on a flagpole; a marker for his team of Spash 'n' Dashers to look for after their dip in the icy waters ... to find their dry clothes. "This is the seventh year this flag has participated," Jim said.

And what about Jim himself, I had to ask. How many times has he made the plunge? "To be honest, none," he said. "I did go in last July ... "