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Dip in the ocean helps raise money for Special Olympics PLUNGE HISTORY

January 20, 2008 12:16 am

By Rebecca J. Barnabi

A horn blows and thousands of people run into the freezing Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the winter.

On Feb. 2, 20 area residents will be among the thousands participating in the 16th annual Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach.

"It's really fun. I know it's crazy to imagine us," said Area 11 coordinator Tim Doyle, 48, of Stafford County. "There's 5,000 people and you're about to do something so insane."

The Area 11 team includes residents from Caroline, King George, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and the city of Fredericksburg. So far, Area 11 has raised almost $6,000 for the Special Olympics fundraising event, said Doyle.

Candy Thompson, fundraising chairperson for Area 11, said that 75 percent of the money raised will remain local and 25 percent will go to the state level for Special Olympics. Thompson's husband is taking the plunge with their son, Travis, who participates in Special Olympics.

Doyle and his 17-year-old son, Matthew, will plunge for the second time on Feb. 2.

Doyle, a former Marine, said that the Polar Plunge has almost a Mardi Gras atmosphere, but it's on the beach and for a good cause.

"Our goal obviously as a team is to increase our team size," said Doyle, a production supervisor for a defense contractor in Woodbridge. The more members on the Area 11 team, the more money they can raise for Special Olympics.

According to Doyle, a section of the beach is blocked off specifically for plungers, and medical personnel are always nearby.

"They want to keep you corralled for the actual plunge," said Doyle.

Lisa Gerenser of Fredericksburg said that Doyle asked her daughter, Kara, if she'd like to plunge for the first time this year.

"And she being a thrill-seeker," Gerenser said, "she said yes."

"It just sounds so cool," said Kara, 16, a junior at James Monroe High School. "I want to do it just because a lot of other people wouldn't want to do it." The fact that it's for a good cause is also an incentive for Kara, whose younger sister is in Special Olympics.

Gerenser, whose husband is a retired Marine, said that the team has received a lot of support from Marines and their families.

"You know the old saying: 'You send in the Marines first,'" said Gerenser. "It just really brought back to me how great the Marines were [when my husband was enlisted]."

Mike Werner, 44, of Spotsylvania plunged last year in a Nacho Libre costume. The film character Nacho Libre, portrayed by Jack Black, raises money for children in an orphanage, and Werner said his wearing the costume is also for a good cause.

"[The Polar Plunge] is one of the biggest parties down there," said Werner, a logistics commodity manager for General Dynamics. "It's about 45 degrees and once you step in [the water] it feels like needles and your skin gets red. But enough Captain Morgan and you're ready to roll."

Werner, the oldest of five children, had a mentally challenged sister who died a few years ago at age 31. She was in a wheelchair and doctors insisted she would not live beyond her 20s.

Werner is plunging for the third time this year, and offered advice for anyone plunging for the first time.

"Do not stop when you get in the water. There are thousands of people [getting in the water] behind you," he said.

"I'm one of the crazies that hops in and plays in the water."

To join the Area 11 team or to make donations for the Polar Plunge, go to firstgiv ing.com/sova or call Doyle at 571/436-5927.