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Every February, members of Burgess Pool’s Menlo Masters participate in the “Can Do Challenge,” an annual event to encourage swimmers to kick off the year with a strong swimming record while also giving back to the community.
For every 2,000 yards swam by each swimmer, one can of food is donated to the Menlo Senior Center’s lunch program. Participants of the Can Do Challenge are responsible for collecting the cans after the challenge and adding them to a pile in the pool lobby.
The Menlo Masters are led by Tim Sheeper, swim coach and operator of Menlo Park’s Burgess Pool and Palo Alto’s Rinconada Pool.
Swimmers in Menlo Masters are a diverse group, with ages ranging from 19 to 90-years-old and experience levels from ex-Olympic swimmers, college water polo players and those simply swimming for fun.
“It’s become a little competition within the team and so every year you just don’t know who is going to really devote themselves to spending a lot of time in the water,” said Sheeper.
The Can Do Challenge has been an annual tradition since the early ’90s. This year, a total of 115 swimmers participated in the challenge and a total of 6,669,891 yards were swam. The team was able to collect and donate 3,344 cans.
“I came over to Menlo Park and just wanted to carry on some sort of community service tradition,” said Sheeper. “[The Can Do Challenge] has become this legacy annual event that our team really looks forward to.”
This February, 75-year-old Tony Spencer placed first in the challenge, swimming 278,150 yards over 25 days. He started swimming under Menlo Masters in 2010 when training for a triathlon and since then completed an Ironman and was in the top three of the Can Do Challenge in 2023. He was determined to place higher this year.
“The thing I love about Masters Swim at Burgess is Tim Sheeper as the coach and the people who swim in my lane. It’s a fun group and Tim is an incredible coach and athlete,” Spencer said.
Jeff Starr, who has been swimming with Sheeper for over 20 years, recorded 53,125 yards for the challenge this year. He says Sheeper is a “very underappreciated asset to our community.”
As a recreational swimmer, Spencer dedicated four to six hours of swimming at a time. He said his wife was his biggest supporter, bringing him pizza for a mid-swim snack while he worked on reaching his initial goal of 200,000 yards — which he successfully exceeded.
Spencer was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is getting treatment. However, his diagnosis won’t keep him from his joy for swimming.
“I’m gonna keep swimming there for as long as I’m upright,” said Spencer, who plans to keep up his strength while undergoing treatment.
Sheeper has created a welcoming space in the Menlo Masters swim group where experience doesn’t matter. The swimmers on the team appreciate his coaching methods, philanthropy and look up to him as an athlete.
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