Episode 6: Leslie Hamilton: Staten Island and Lake Norman

In 2023, Leslie Hamilton became the first woman to swim around Staten Island, and in 2025 completed an unprecedented crossing of the 26.3 mile length of Lake Norman. She likes to tackle swims that make her feel “a little crazy”, ventures off the beaten path, has nothing to prove and everything to love about this sport. Internally driven by a passionate sense of adventure and insatiably hunger for challenge, we discussed growing up within New York Open Water, how she chooses her swims (spoiler alert, they aren’t on a list), swimming sans-top around Staten Island, and the challenges of swimming long distances in warm water. 00:00 Introducing Leslie Hamilton 02:03 Growing up in NYOW 05:10 Planning the Staten Island Swim 08:16 Media Attention and the New Yorker Article 14:37 Swimming in Potentially Polluted Waters 19:30 What Makes an Adventure in Ultraswimming 22:59 You Can't Repeat the Same Swim Twice 24:52 Envisioning the Lake Norman Swim 26:51 The 24-Hour Swim Goal 29:36 Measuring Routes in the MSF Member Portal 33:44 Building a Supportive Crew 35:41 The Boat Rental Process 37:44 Night Swimming 41:04 Overheating While Swimming 48:59 Knowing When to End a Swim Leslie Hamilton on LongSwims Database https://ultraswimming.org/database/p/leslie-hamilton Music: 'Wanderlust' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Additional Reading https://www.harpercollins.com/products/endure-alex-hutchinson Additional Listening: The Central Governor Theory on Trail Runner Nation Part 1 https://trailrunnernation.com/2021/10/wrapping-our-brain-around-the-central-governor-theory-part-1/ The Central Governor Theory on Trail Runner Nation Part 2 https://trailrunnernation.com/2021/10/ep-544-wrapping-our-brain-around-the-central-governor-theory-part-2/