Tadeusz Czepukojć was born on 20 October 1965 in the Warmian-Masurian town of Bartoszyce. He is now living and working in Gdańsk, happily married to his wife Ania and a father of three. He is constantly on the move, working concurrently as a physical education schoolteacher, physiotherapist, swimming, skiing and sailing coach, and for WOPR volunteer water rescue. He also loves triathlon – swimming, cycling and running - and is the head coach of Torus Triathlon Team.
Tadeusz hates boredom and enjoys constantly pushing his endurance, setting himself up for more and more ambitious goals. To mark his 50th birthday, he completed his 5 x Ironman project – finishing five exhausting Ironman triathlons in different locations around the world. A few weeks ago, he achieved another spectacular feat, this time entirely in the water and…not too far from home – in the Kashubian region.
A 15-hour, 40km swimming odyssey through eight lakes…where did he get such an idea from? Here’s what the man has to say:
I wanted to swim through the entire “Radunia lakes circle” because nobody had done it before and because I love Kaszuby. I have been exploring this lake region for a long time – by kayak, by mountain bike and road bike, on horseback and sailing on different yachts. In winter I traversed the “Radunia ring” with skis and ice-skates, dove into the deepest places and swam in the holes in the ice. I even explored the area from the air in a powered hang glider.
It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. I have experienced many unforgettable adventures during every season of the year and every time I was taken with the sheer beauty of the region. There are many other swimming challenges out there, some way more spectacular than mine, like swimming from Gdynia to Hel – it’s nothing new, though hard to accomplish logistically. The English Channel has been traversed by over 2,000 people, but the “Kashubian lake circle” has not. There are eight beautiful lakes spread in a giant ring: Raduńskie Górne, Raduńskie Dolne, Brodno Małe, Brodno Wielkie, Ostrzyckie, Patulskie, Dąbrowskie and Lubowisko. I thought to myself – let’s do this, why wait?”
Due to injuries, I had to limit my involvement in triathlon and so I decided to focus on my swimming prowess. Aiming to peak towards the end of summer, I trained in Greece, clocking long open water training sessions in Crete and Zakynthos. I enjoyed the underwater rock formations and the warm, crystal-clear water and spying on fish schools. I didn’t even need a wetsuit. Unfortunately, the water in the Polish lakes is a lot colder and I didn’t want to risk it. Thankfully, on 2 September the conditions were optimal. While I was able to feel the difference in the water temperature in the different lakes, it did not hinder my project. It was an original and interesting endeavour for many reasons – the Kashubian region is very beautiful and quiet – there is no risk of colliding with a speedboat. I sincerely hope others will come to appreciate the region’s potential in the future.
On that day, I began at 6am and finished at 9pm – it took 15 hours! I had someone with me at all times in a kayak and my wife Ania supplied me with warm, calorific meals that had been prepared by my daughter Asia, who is a nutritionist. Many people who swim through the Bay of Gdańsk stop to take a breather and have their meals easily within reach… I took breaks after every large lake, enjoying the last days of the summer. The Raduńskie and Brodno lakes have bridges you can swim under to get to the Ostrzyckie lake. The Patulskie lake is very different – it is colder, shallower and murkier than the others and the current runs backwards. It offered the most challenges – I had to manoeuvre through vast stretches of aquatic flora and my assistant in the kayak got stuck in the sludge, so we had to push him for a while. By the time I reached the beautiful Dąbrowskie lake, the sun was already setting, and I was all alone.
It was dark when I took on the final lake. I scared the pants off some poor guy who was fishing – he turned on his halogen light to discover a strange monster in a wetsuit! I finished around 9pm, more exhausted than after an Ironman, but extremely happy. My inner ear was confused, I was dizzy and unable to keep my balance, but the feeling of having accomplished something amazing was stronger. A feat of this magnitude calls for some serious physical preparation and mental endurance. After about 25km, I was beginning to feel tired and had second thoughts…Why am I doing this? It’s Sunday, I could be having a barbeque… At such time, all your old injuries decide to act up – broken wishbone, torn muscles, twisted joints…. It feels like going back in time. So, you just have to relax and keep doing what you’re doing. My triathlon experience had certainly helped because I’ve experienced these feelings in my head and in my body before.
The happy, euphoric feeling had stayed with me for the next two days. My body had released so many endorphins that it felt like I had champagne for breakfast! I was so energetic that I even felt like training the very next day. Luckily, I was wiser and gave myself a day to regenerate. My body was chafing from 15 hours in the wetsuit and my shoulders were aching viciously despite putting on lots of lotion. But even then, I had already started thinking of what I was going to do next.
You might ask me: what does one think about during such a long period of physical and mental activity? I like to concentrate on my swimming technique, though I admit you cannot stay concentrated for so many hours. Eventually you enter a meditation-like trance, I think of my kids, my wife, my family, preparations for my future competitions. I try to stay mindful and to think positively…
I burned 8,640 calories that day and completed 21,600 shoulder rotations. My average pace over the 36km stretch was 2 minutes for every 100 metres. Of course, I could have swum faster, but it would have ended badly. All up it was approximately 40km and 15 hours in the water.
I hope that my achievement has been noticed in the Kashubian region. I helped to promote the area, show its untapped potential. The mayor of Stężyca had supported me and asked for my input. The town has constructed some great bike paths and a beautiful, 1km pier on the lake. Stężyca has good infrastructure for sports and is constantly investing in sports promotion – each year they host a large-scale triathlon competition. Of course, I would love it if my project reached more people. I even got a better idea that has already gained some support – since completing my distance requires a lot of energy, why not divide it into stages so that you can make it more manageable for others and let them fully appreciate the beauty of the region? My idea is a multi-stage competition, a different Radunia lake every day. A stretch in the morning, race during the day and in the evening, we rest together and analyse our progress. It’s all in my head!
What’s next? Where will I push my envelope to? I am really impressed and inspired by Robert Karaś, who achieved first place and a world record in Triple Ironman. Amazing!!! I had once swum side by side with Robert in a pool. I have a lot of respect for the mental endurance of people like him, because it is truly a superhuman feat. I would like to cover a similar distance in Poland – a triathlon from the Baltic Sea to the Karkonosze Mountains. Then, a run from the Czocha castle to the summit of Śnieżka. No one has done that before… But that’s a plan for the summer of 2019.
But seriously, you ask why do I do all this? This is my passion, my life. The importance of sport and competition had been injected into me in my childhood and they have never left me. When I stand on the podium, I feel like a teenager again. The taste of success is like travelling back in time. I am briefly able to go back to a time when I was that unruly little boy, loitering about the beloved streets of my home town…Anyone can complete a monster triathlon or reach the North and the South Pole like Marek Kamiński. There is only one condition – you must set yourself a goal and prepare to battle your own weaknesses to reach it!
