Mt. Lebanon native, other local swimmers to dive into Mon to fight pancreatic cancer

The covid pandemic put an end to many athletic competitions and uprooted the lives of most everyone around the world. For 63-year-old Judy Caves of Mt. Lebanon, it was the start of something special.

“During covid, when all of us couldn’t swim in pools, we started swimming in rivers,” Caves said.

While beginning to swim in rivers was exciting on its own, what was particularly inspiring was the philanthropy that coincided with her long-distance swimming events.

Starting June 21, 2021, Caves helped raise money for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

This year, Caves is leading an event that is dubbed the “PanCan” swim this Saturday that aims to raise money to fight pancreatic cancer. The cause is incredibly meaningful to her.

“My mother passed away from pancreatic cancer the eve before my 45th birthday,” Caves said. “I had to watch my mother suffer for two years, as this cancer is incredibly painful. I think the research is important for people to be spotted earlier, as it’s important to research chemo drugs.”

Along with Caves, Justin Dutta, Jess Monning, Jennifer Petyk, David Watterson, Chad Littlefield and Kristin Matheny will take part in the swim. Matheny’s son Josh Matheny, an Upper St. Clair graduate, recently qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The swim starts at the Duck Hollow parking lot (about two-tenths of a mile east of the Homestead Bridge) along the Monongahela River. They will swim east for around two miles before reaching the Rankin Bridge. This marks the turnaround point and is also where the swimmers will pause briefly for fluids and a picture break.

“This is four miles (against the current a little more than half the way),” Caves said.

Afterward, the swimmers will return to the starting point at Duck Hollow to finish.

Caves knows it takes plenty of training to swim in open water.

“I swim six times a week. I’ll swim at Mt. Lebanon (High School) and go down to the river later in the day,” Caves said.

The strategy Caves uses preparing for the event is to swim as much in a week as she will have to swim in one day during her long swims, so she gets the endurance she needs without over-exerting herself in training.

This is far from her first long-distance swim. Other open water swims she has completed are the Swim around Key West (12.5 miles), Swim the Potomac (20.5 miles), the Three Rivers Marathon swim (18.3 miles) and the Swim Around Manhattan (28 miles).

“Obviously, pools don’t have current or wind, but it takes training to swim in open water,” Caves said. “You have to prepare for all the different things that mother nature can throw at you.”

Aside from open water swimming, Caves also entered the United States Masters Swim competition in Indianapolis from June 20-24. There she competed in the 500 meter freestyle against other swimmers from across the country.

For more information or to donate to the “Making Waves for Pancreatic Cancer Research” fundraiser, visit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network website. The goal is currently to raise $5,000.