Zane Hodge, a resident of the Mississippi Delta, was 51 years old when he stumbled across an online ad for a 12-mile open-water swim that was being hosted in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On a whim, he decided to sign up, and that one decision ignited a love for swimming that can still be seen today.
“I’ve never really been an impulsive person, but I impulsively signed up for it, and that’s what set me on fire for open water swimming,” said Hodge.
Prior to this swim, Hodge had never been a skilled swimmer. At the time of the swim in 2007, he actually considered himself a beginner in the sport.
“I call myself an adult onset swimmer,” Hodge jokes. “I had lessons as a kid, but I never was a swimmer. I swam a little bit in 2004 (doing triathlons), but it was during the swim in Chattanooga that I realized I had a talent for swimming and enjoyed it. It’s been my main sport ever since.”
Since his first open water swim in Chattanooga in 2007, Hodge has swum the “Swim the Suck” event in Tennessee, which includes about 10 miles of free swimming. He has also completed the “Chicot Challenge” eight times, each of which included over 13 miles of open swimming. After continuing to achieve these great goals in swimming, Hodge knew that he needed to use his talents for a greater cause.
Zane Hodge, above, swims toward his goal of 7 miles with Alaina Matthews, below, swimming her goal of 5 miles. (Photo special to The Sun-Sentinel)
During his training for his first 13-mile Chicot swim, he recalled, “This [is] too much just to be about me. And so I thought I would raise funds for diabetes.”
Choosing diabetes as his fundraising focus was a clear decision. Diabetes was close to Hodge’s heart, as it had affected almost all walks of his family, both current and past.
“My mother was a diabetic, her mother was a diabetic, her mother was a diabetic, her sisters were diabetic, and my wife is a diabetic. I also pastored a little church and many within the church passed away from diabetes,” said Hodge. “I kept encountering it so much that it became an issue with me.”
As Hodge began to raise money for diabetes, he also began to educate himself. The swimmer mentioned that he took every given opportunity to learn about diabetes. He read books, newspapers, magazines, and watched television programs that contained information about diabetes statistics or management.
“I began to understand how bad it really [was],” Hodge recalled as he continued to learn more information on the chronic disease.
The swimmer even recalled his own heartbreak regarding diabetes.
“Even though my mother took [diabetes] seriously, it ended up killing her,” Hodge shared.
Reflecting on the heartaches of his past, Hodge now uses his experiences to bring hope and support to the growing community of people in Mississippi affected by diabetes. He does this through the many free swim and athletic events he creates to fundraise for the DFM. His greatest swim to date was his 2016 free swim in Chicot, where he swam 22.38 miles and raised over $2,500 for the DFM. His greatest overall fundraiser was the 2022 “Crazy Man Quadrathon,” which consisted of a one-mile swim, a 55-mile bike ride, a 10-mile run, and powerlifting. This event brought in over $9,000 in donations.
He mentioned that he fully supports the DFM in all of his fundraising efforts because all funds raised are kept within the state of Miss. He saw this as a great opportunity to allocate his funds for diabetes advocacy and research.
For his most recent fundraising event for the DFM, Hodge hosted “Pool Fools” in Greenwood, Mississippi. This was a swimming event where anyone could come to the Twin River Recreation pool and set goals for themselves and raise money for diabetes. The swimmer recalled how he came up with such an idea.
“It’s been bouncing around in my head for a number of years,” he said. “One reason that I chose this was, logistically, it was a lot simpler. With an open swim, there are a lot of moving parts. Pool fools [was] not as crazy as an open swim, but it involve[d] more people for fundraising. I’m also hoping that this event can be easily continued every year for the sake of the DFM.”
Zane Hodge, left, and Alaina Matthews are pictured after completing their swimming goals of 7 miles and 5 miles, respectively, during a recent Greenwood fundraiser for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. (Photo special to The Sun-Sentinel)
“Pool Fools” was first and foremost a community event. Anyone was encouraged to sign up and raise money, even if they were a first time swimmer. In fact, Hodge encouraged all ranges of swimmers, even beginners, to swim and support.
“I contacted all the swimmers that I [knew] and told them to set their own goals and raise some funds,” said Hodge. “But anyone [could] join. You just set how far you want[ed] to swim and how you want[ed] to do it. Who knows, maybe we’ll hit the jackpot!”
It’s all about bringing people together for a greater cause. Whether an experienced swimmer or not, this event was meant for everyone who wanted to help out the DFM. Hopefully, this event will set the ground for many more “Pool Fools” events to come.
“This is all in an effort to improve the future of Mississippi,” said Hodge.
The “Pool Fools” event ended up being a major success. About 12 people came and supported the swim meet, and 7 participants set personal swimming goals. Zane successfully completed his goal of 7 miles, while others completed goals of 5 miles or less.
By the end of the fundraising event, Zane and his fellow swimmers raised about $7,000 for the DFM. This was a huge encouragement to both Zane and the DFM, and he looks forward to continuing this fundraiser for years to come.
Although the “Pool Fools” event has come to an end, that does not mean that donations have ceased. There is still an open fundraiser taking place on the DFM’s website (msdiabetes.org). If you couldn’t make it to the swim meet, there is still time to support Zane and his life-saving work for the only premier diabetes nonprofit in Mississippi, where every dollar raised will stay in the state.
