Balboa Park in San Diego, CA does not offer much in the way of ocean swimming. It's a park in the middle of San Diego, very close to downtown but not that close to the Pacific, relatively speaking. However, Balboa Park shares a connection with the La Jolla Rough Water Swim, an annual event that takes place in La Jolla, CA this Sunday.

The 1916 inaugural swim took place during the years of the Panama-California Exposition held in Balboa Park. Most of the Spanish-style buildings in the park today were built for the Exposition. The swim was the result of a challenge the World's Fair committee issued to San Diego communities. The committee wanted each community to showcase what they had to offer, and La Jolla had "the Cove."

The La Jolla Rough Water Swim has been called the "Boston Marathon of Swimming" and the "Granddaddy of Open Water Swims." This is the 77th year for the swim; an event that has endured wars, funding challenges, and shark sightings. It has quite a history.

I signed up for Gatorman, a trademarked term for the 3-mile swim. At 1:30pm, 500 of my closest friends and I will don bright yellow swim caps. From La Jolla Cove, we'll swim out to Scripps Pier, a distance of 1.5 miles. I'm expecting a flurry of arms and legs at the start, probably a few bumps on the head, some rolling waves, and mouthful of sea water here and there. But that's ok, this race is not the La Jolla Calm Water Swim.

At the pier, we'll turn back, swim the remaining 1.5 miles, cross the line, log our official chip-timed finish, and earn the title of Gatorman or Gatorman-Woman. This will be the first time that I will swim this course, but with 77 years of history I have a feeling it won't be the last.