Why I joined the Polar Plunge - A Brit's Chicago Bucket list!
Back in 2019 I plunged for the first time. Doing the polar plunge had been on my bucket list for years, and it was time to pack my bags, hop on a plane and travel 4000 miles to jump into a freezing lake. As the date rolled around, I realised that I was fully, utterly and completely unprepared for a winter visit to Chicago. I didn’t even have a coat in the house let alone anything else to keep me warm in the freezing temperatures I would be facing. So, I got myself some thermal leggings, dug the coat out of storage and off we went. As I boarded the plane I took one final inventory of what I had in my fairly small backpack for this flying visit to a chilly Chicago - Wolly hat? Check! Gloves? Check! Taco costume? Check! I had everything I needed.
Chicago is an incredibly cool city. It was so foggy when we arrived that we were given what we have now dubbed the ‘You can’t see it but..’ tour. But what was even cooler was being part of something as awesome as the plunge. The day before there was a question mark over whether it was going to happen (although Joe and I made it clear we were going to be jumping in regardless, I didn’t fly to Chicago for fun). America has some serious health and safety rules and Brian and the other amazing people involved in the plunge were tearing their hair out trying to make sure this thing was happening.
When the big day arrived, we tramped down to the beach to help with the set up. The people who volunteer their time for this event are truly wonderful. They arrive on the beach at 8.30 and it is COLD. It’s snowing, it’s windy, it’s absolutely freezing. Some get started hacking ice from the shoreline so we can all run in safely, some are setting up gazebos in the wind, some are bagging up the goodies that every participant gets given. The people who do this truly do it for the love. There is no reason to stand on a freezing cold beach for 6 hours otherwise.
The atmosphere on the beach was incredible. Plungers had been trickling onto the beach for the hour beforehand, dancing around to keep warm. The families who we fundraised for were there (and some of them plunged themselves!). There are people who have plunged every year, there are newbies like us. An 8 year old boy was my hero of the day.
I dressed as a taco, Joe had his union jack cape. Patty, my best friend, had a penguin outfit at the ready. Another of our Brighton friends joined us so the UK representation was pretty strong. The music was blaring and we were ready to go.
It was so cold I had to stop myself from hyperventilating after we came out of the lake. I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. I had dutifully double knotted the trainers I wore to run into the lake, my thought process being that I didn’t want my laces to come undone but not considering that I would have no function in my fingers afterwards to get a double knot undone…
I was freezing from head to toe (you have to get your head under if you want to call yourself a true polar bear…) but post plunge I was BUZZING. It was the most fun you can have at -40 degrees. And warming up with Fireballs and Mexican food at the after party certainly didn’t hurt either. Knowing that we had raised money to help families in need was the icing on the freezing cold cake.
The reason I plunged for the first time was to visit Chicago and cross something off of my USA bucket list. The reason I will be plunging this year is because I was so inspired by the love that goes into arranging this amazing polar plunge, the impact it has on the families they help and, let be honest here, I have a brand new taco outfit that needs to be christened in Lake Michigan!
See you on the beach!
Amie