Under a hazy fog darkened Saturday morning sky, about 900 eager runners, some in festive and cartoonish attire, braved low visibility and choppy Lake Michigan waters off Oak Street Beach to participate in the annual Polar Plunge.
The Polar Plunge asks people to jump into frigid Lake Michigan to raise money to support Chicago families in need. The event, run by the Chicago Polar Bear Club, has happened annually for 22 years after founder Brian Marchal wanted to jump in the lake and recruited a small group to join him.
The first plunge on Jan. 1, 2002 had just three participants, according to the Chicago Polar Bear Club. The tradition has only grown since that day.
This year’s hundreds of plungers ran in the water for only a few seconds before running back to frantically warm up on the beach under a cloudy sky.
First-time plunger Matt Gortney of River North said he was inspired to participate after seeing the event for the first time last winter. His toes were numb as he walked further inland with his wife Jessica who came to support. Despite just emerging from the freezing water, he wore a bright smile on his face.
“It’s freezing,” Gortney said with a laugh. “But at least it’s not snowing like last year.”
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While some participants waded in the water knee deep, others dove all the way under, including Gortney who said he fell over and ended up submerged. Gortney said he already plans to join again next year.
Other participants, like Abdul Alkahtani, joined the dip in the lake on a whim. Alkahtani was going on a run along the lakefront on Saturday when he saw signs advertising the Polar Plunge. He signed up on the spot and came back for the main event.
“It was incredible,” said Alkahtani, a second-year graduate student at University of Illinois originally from Saudi Arabia. “I loved the idea behind the event and just decided to do it.”
He tried to recruit some of his friends, but none could come in such short notice, leaving him to jump in with hundreds of strangers supporting the same cause. About 10 minutes after the plunge, Alkahtani said he felt warm again with the help of the clothes he packed and the excitement of the day.
Many participants wore swim trunks and bathing suits, but some were decked out in costumes for the event from hot dogs to a Chicago flag. Tasher Losenegger and Peter Phillip dressed up as The Little Mermaid, complete with bright red wigs, green shorts and makeshift purple bikini tops made of cardboard.
Losenegger said they made the costumes earlier that morning, and the attention had exceeded their expectations.
“We’ve been asked f, people jump in frigid Lake Michigan while raising money to support Chicago families in need. The event, run by the Chicago Polar Bear Club, has happened annually for 22 years after founder Brian Marchal wanted to jump in the lake and recruited a small group to join him.
Phillip added they wanted to wear “something tropical” for the event, which was the first time that both of them participated in the city’s polar plunge.
“I wanted to do more Chicago events since moving here, and this was the next one, so we decided to do it,” Phillip said.