Heights Swimming Teacher Takes 7th in Ocean Race

This story was written by Editor Doug Miner.

Anyone who works out at The Heights, especially in the morning, knows the smiling face of Meredith Nash. There’s a determined person behind that smile.

She swam competitively for Webster Groves High School, and her longest training swim was four miles at The Heights. 

Sharks were her biggest fear.

“I was so afraid I was going to be eaten by a shark,” she said. “The Jaws theme kept going through my head.”

How did she get herself to make the swim?

“I might complain, but ultimately I’m going to get in and do whatever it is that I’ve decided I’m going to do,” Nash said.

The first two-and-a-half miles of the ocean race were on the Atlantic side of the island, right after tropical storm Andrea had gone through. The waves were so high she got sea sick twice. That was the first time she considered quitting.

The second time was when an iguana cut her off.

When she hit the bay side it was clear and pretty, but not always easy.

“There were portions that only had about six inches of water,” she said. “But if you touched the bottom you were disqualified. You have to figure out a way to swim without touching the bottom.”

She swam through anchored boats, under bridges and through canals.

She said she was happy through the first eight miles, but at around nine her shoulders started giving out.

“I had very incredible pain for the last three miles,” she said. “I had to alternate between freestyle and breast stroke in order to finish it because I didn’t think my arms were going to make it.”

When she did finish, “The first words out of my mouth were, I will never do this race again.”

Now that Nash knows what she is capable of, she wants to use her abilities to raise money for non-profits in St. Louis. She’s hoping to swim the Bridge to Bridge race in San Francisco Bay – 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) with a strong cross-current – as a fund-raiser.

That’s in May, and she is working on qualifying for that race.