Men’s and Women’s Swimming to Participate in Sixth Annual Hour of Power Relay

The Elms College men’s and women’s swim teams will participate in the sixth annual “Hour of Power” relay in honor of Carleton College swimmer Ted Mullin, who died in the fall of 2006 from sarcoma, a rare soft-tissue cancer, on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 5:00 p.m. Funds raised through this event support research at the University of Chicago into the causes and treatment of sarcoma in young people.

First held on Nov. 7, 2006, the Ted Mullin “Hour of Power” relay has grown from 15 teams in its first year to 146 teams in 2010 with almost 7,000 athletes ranging from collegiate, to high school, to club and masters and other interested swimmers. Over the past five years, participants in the Hour of Power raised over $260,000 for the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.

What exactly is the “Hour of Power” relay? The event was designed as a “leave it in the pool” memorial practice to Ted consisting of continuous relays, any stroke, all-out swimming, for one hour, with the objective of keeping all relays in each lane on the same length. Simultaneously swimming the Hour of Power across time zones adds to the spirit and fun of the relay and helps build awareness among institutions throughout the country.