Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs resident Harry Brelsford has participated in the American Cancer Society Swim 5 Miles Challenge for the past two years, each time surpassing his donation goal for the cause.
Brelsford was inspired to participate in the challenge after walking alongside his wife, who died from a 78-day battle with a group of stage four cancers of unknown origin in 2019. Because his wife was an active person, especially through swimming, he knew that he wanted to do something to honor her memory after moving to Dripping Springs from Seattle, Wash. six years ago.
The virtual challenge works through an honor system, where the participant signs up to swim at least five miles through the specific month and raise money to help people fighting cancer. The American Cancer Society has a goal for each person to raise $250, but Brelsford surpassed that at $900 last year and $600 this year.
Through his 32-year experience in the technology field, Brelsford shared that he is also motivated by the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to do research. So, he plans to write to the American Cancer Society, hoping it will consider using the funds he raised from the challenge and allocate them toward AI cancer research.
“That felt good. Being in technology [back] in Seattle, our culture is a little bit competitive; it’s kind of like Silicon Valley. It's a bunch of go-getters and so, that has always been my goal to surpass the baseline,” he said. “A couple things came up this year. I didn't hit eight miles, but I was happy to exceed the five-mile limit.”
Brelsford, 64, is not new to swimming, as he hits the pool at the Springs Family YMCA approximately four to five days a week because he has found it to be a better way to stay active.
“Swimming is very kind when your body gets older. It's very linear; it's very smooth and you don't get injured. What I see with people my age, in fact, at the YMCA, is people who play anything from pickleball to racquetball to tennis, that's a really start stop motion and that can hurt your body versus swimming,” he said.
The Dripping Springs resident said that he plans to continue doing the challenge, in additions to other ways he gives back.
One of which, he shared, is that when he goes to technology conferences, he has found that a lot of vendors or sponsors give out socks — one of the most needed items for civilians — and so, he will grab a few pairs to bring home. Instead of keeping them for himself, Brelsford will donate them to civilians, specifically in Kerrville, because he has family ties there and he also used to attend a summer camp that was down the street from Camp Mystic — which was severely impacted by the Fourth of July floods in 2025.
To learn more about the American Cancer Society and its various challenges, visit www.cancer.org.
