`FANTASY SEIMMERS' READY TO DIVE IN AT CENTRAL POOL

On Monday, about 50 people will begin swimming from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis, La Crosse, Wis., and maybe even the Gulf of Mexico.

The swimmers won't actually be racing barges up and down the Mississippi River's 1,171-mile length. But the mileage they accumulate at the Central Municipal Pool will be computed so they can set distance goals for themselves like Davenport, Iowa, or Vicksburg, Miss.

The "Fantasy Swim" was created for lap swimmers who perhaps need some incentive, said Doug Gannon, aquatic recreation coordinator for the city.

"Basically it's for anybody who does some type of fitness regimen where they keep track of laps."

Fitness swimmers can range from "water walkers" to the triathletes involved in the pool's master swim program. The master swimmers are highly conditioned athletes who swim during the pool's 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. early-bird hours. Some swim the full two hours six days a week, completing two to three miles a day.

They swim the pool's 50-meter length as opposed to the shorter 25-yard width crossed by the noon and afternoon lap swimmers. In both cases, a lap is down and back.

Some lap swimmers simply work out for a specified period of time needed to achieve cardiovascular fitness. Others are more goal-oriented and want to keep track of the distances they cover.

"It's designed to enhance your physical conditioning through goal-setting," said Scott Mulvaney, pool manager.

Distances will be posted weekly for those participating in the "Fantasy Swim."

The mileage swum in the pool amounts to 3 percent of the actual mileage from Cape Girardeau to the Mississippi River destinations. Swimming the actual mileage by the program's ending date in May would be unrealistic.

Swimming to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi, requires 75 miles in the pool.

For the 50-meter swimmers, that will amount to 1,200 laps. For those swimming the 25-yard distance, 2,625 laps will be required to get to northwestern Minnesota.