Sunny skies, freezing temps greet thousands of polar plungers jumping into Lake Michigan

At 60 years old, Eben Smith has committed himself to doing crazy things.

The retired architect has sky dived, fire-danced and rough-water kayaked. And on Sunday, he took a dip into Lake Michigan’s freezing waters.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” said Smith, a lifelong Chicagoan participating in the Polar Plunge for the first time. “And I just love doing crazy stuff.”

Smith was one of approximately 4,800 taking part in the 25th annual Polar Plunge, a fundraiser benefitting Special Children’s Charities and Special Olympics Illinois that brings thousands into Lake Michigan on the first Sunday in March each year. As of Sunday afternoon, $1.7 million had been raised from the event.

Smith and his best friend had on some of the classier costumes at the plunge: They dressed in robes and ascots and carried wood pipes.

“It was cold! But it was a blast, I’m glad we did it,” he said. “My kids think I’m crazy, but what the heck.”

The water was around 35 degrees, and small waves lapped the shore at North Avenue Beach. While temperatures hovered around freezing, sunny skies and minimal winds made the conditions more tolerable, several plungers told the Sun-Times. But plenty were questioning their choices. One plunger shouted, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever done!” Another in line to plunge said, “Oh my god, what are we doing?”

Veteran plungers had a few tricks for making the experience more manageable. Some stretch and do jumping jacks. Others put on an alcohol blanket.

“The beers help, the shots definitely help,” said 52-year-old Mike McInerney, who was plunging for the sixth time with his 18-year-old son Tim. The two wore silver short shorts with their plunge team in honor of the Polar Plunge’s 25th year. Their team is organized by The Village Inn, a bar in their Canaryville neighborhood.

“It’s for a great cause and we have a ton of fun,” McInerney said.

Lexi Henderson, a 26-year-old special education elementary teacher from the western suburbs, plunged for the 10th time on Sunday. She first got involved with Special Olympics as a teenager coaching track, basketball and volleyball.

“It’s such an important program,” said Henderson, who loves the organization so much she has a tattoo of the Special Olympics symbol on her forearm.

She was joined by her two friends, Mary Reddy and Stephanie Williams. This year, they came dressed as hot dogs. Last year they were sharks.

“We go with whatever we think will be fun,” said Reddy, a 27-year-old pediatric nurse who lives in Lakeview.

They keep coming back to do the plunge to do their part to keep Special Olympics around.

“We want to make sure that athletes are able to have the equipment that they need in order to participate,” said Williams, 26, also an educator.

“They already have so many challenges so being able to just support them so they don’t have to worry about another thing getting in their way, it’s really, really important.”