By Brian Trompeter
McLean resident Chuck DiMeglio believes in achieving major results a little bit at a time.
Between summer 1963 and summer 2022, DiMeglio calculated his weekday swimming had involved about 26 million strokes covering 1,753,030 pool lengths of 25 yards each, which equaled 24,901 miles – or the length of Earth’s circumference.
“If you’re just consistent, if you get in and swim for an hour a day, I think it’s got wonderful health and mental benefits,” said DiMeglio, 63, who now has set his sights on swimming a total of 2 million pool lengths.
During that six-decade quest, DiMeglio in 2022 estimated he had put about 4,000 quarters into pool lockers and expended about 150 pairs of goggles,180 swimsuits, 15 pairs of paddles, 10 pairs of fins, four pull buoys, 30 gym bags, seven locks and just three kickboards. He also went through about 80 gallons of shampoo and a half-gallon of Visine eye drops.
Born in Albuquerque, DiMeglio (whose last name is pronounced di-MELL-yo) lived in Santa Fe for a time. His father was a hotel manager and DiMeglio and his siblings learned how to swim at the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel in Santa Fe.
“That was our haven,” recalled DiMeglio, who celebrated the completion of his cumulative round-the-world swim at that historic hotel.
DiMeglio, who previously worked in California’s Silicon Valley, is an information-technology-strategy consultant for businesses. He moved to Northern Virginia in 1980.
DiMeglio estimates he covered about 40 percent of his Earth-encircling swim tally in Fairfax County Park Authority pools. He often enjoys the wide lanes and bright lighting at Oakmont (formerly Oak Marr) RECenter in Oakton. He often swims during mornings, but times his visits during slower periods when fewer people are around.
“The pools do get crowded, so you do share lanes every once in a while,” he said. “Typically, it doesn’t get to the point where you’re doing circles, but you take one side and the other person takes the other.”
He generally swims every weekday. If he has to miss a day for some reason, he makes up for it by swimming on Saturday or increasing the yardage swum in subsequent days. He extended his yardage for a while after having elbow surgery in 2013 and again in 2020, when the pandemic outbreak kept him out of the pool for three months.
“For a good while there, I was swimming about 6,500 yards per day,” said DiMeglio, who these days now swims about 5,500 yards (a bit over 3 miles) daily.
“I try to mix it up a bit and do different sets,” he said. “One day per week, I’ll do faster swimming with a little shorter distances.”
And his exercise regimen does not stop, but rather shifts, on weekends.
“I play golf on Saturdays and Sundays,” he said. “Those are my recovery days.”
Recovery is essential for swimmers because they make thousands of repetitive movements. DiMeglio has had a few injuries over the years, but generally has been lucky.
“You have to listen to your body. You have to be careful,” he said. “I’m not out there doing all-out sprinting. If something starts to tweak, you need to back down. If it’s not fixing itself, then adjust your workout and do something else.”
DiMeglio warms up before swimming and generally “feels great” by the end of the workout. Swimming also has helped preserve his joints. “I’d rather swim a mile than run a mile,” he said.
He typically swims freestyle, along with some backstroke, occasionally the more-strenuous butterfly and some lengths with kicking only. His least favorite stroke is the breaststroke. “I don’t have the knees for it,” he said.
DiMeglio does some competitive swimming and has participated four times in the National Senior Games.
He does not like cold water for swimming, preferring it to be around 80 degrees. To get around that when swimming in Florida, where residents kept the pool at a too-warm 88 degrees, he would get up at 6 a.m. to take advantage of cold morning air.
DiMeglio’s father, who died in February 2023 at age 91, was in good shape throughout his life, but underwent a quintuple bypass in his 70s. That experience motivated DiMeglio to become even more dedicated to swimming.
“Some people, when they come home from swimming, have to take a nap,” he said. “I don’t. I just get my second wind and keep on going.”
While attending a “fairly demanding” graduate school that required studying until late into the evening, DiMeglio typically would swim for an hour around dinnertime. Members of his study group, who were exhausted by their academic efforts, marveled at his energy level.
“I’m sure they thought I was taking drugs,” he said. “But it was all the endorphins from swimming. When you finally do sleep, you sleep well.”
Great Falls resident Lauren Barton met DiMeglio at a University of Virginia pool when both were graduate students at the school. That pool since has been demolished, but DiMeglio obtained a brick from it, she said.
“He was always reliable, brought a workout and was fun to talk to,” recalled Barton.
She and DiMeglio went their separate ways after graduate school, but began swimming together again after Barton moved to Northern Virginia in 2007. DiMeglio’s friendship largely has motivated her to continue swimming, she said.
“It’s hard to find someone to swim with consistently as an adult,” she said. “He was always there and very encouraging to me.”
Steve Sedgwick met DiMeglio a few years ago and typically swims with him two or three days per week. Sedgwick, who is a low-vision swimmer, is thankful that DiMeglio helps him find lanes to in which to swim.
“He is an amazing athlete and friend,” Sedgwick said. “He’s always encouraged me to to increase my distance and speed.”
