'Imagine a billion ice cubes hitting you at once': Polar Plunge returns to Fox Lake

A year after the Fox Lake Polar Plunge for Special Olympics was forced to go virtual, the event came out of the deep freeze Sunday with an in-person crowd of more than 200 swimmers braving the icy waters for a good cause.

"It went great for the first time having this in person in two years," said Jordan Feldman, Region B director for Special Olympics Illinois. "It's very exciting to be back. We had a lot of enthusiasm from the plungers. We had some really good groups and really good police departments, who are our biggest supporters."

Feldman said the plunge raised an estimated $52,000 to support Special Olympic athletes.

Temperatures were above freezing, but a heavy wind whipping through Lakefront Park made it chilly going for plungers emerging from the cold water. The grass on the shore was muddy after the thaw, and plungers said the water itself was quite mucky.

But the crowd was festive, many girding for the dive with adult beverages.

As usual, participants donned colorful costumes, including a team from Lambs Farm with a fast-food theme, with one squad member dressed as Ronald McDonald.

Sara Myers of Volo, who owns a house cleaning service, led a team naturally called the Dust Bunnies. The team wore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes.

For Myers, it was her ninth polar plunge. She said she prepares for it by "just knowing you're doing it for a good cause."

Any advice for first-time plungers? "Less clothes is better. It's easier to peel out of," said Myers, who raised $250 of her team's $3,000 contribution.

One member of her team, Michelle Buhrke of Richmond, wore a heated jacket with a battery inside prior to plunging.

Amber Rivera of Round Lake was the first plunger in the water Sunday.

"I do it for my nephew, who is autistic. I want to show him that anything is possible," she said, adding that her nephew became old enough this year to participate in Special Olympics.

She was dressed as Iron Man, because her nephew loves the Avengers.

"We always say, 'I love you 3,000,'" she said, a line from "The Avengers" movie.

Rivera said the water was very muddy.

"I actually lost one of my shoes, but luckily it popped back up."

One of the largest fundraisers was the village of Mundelein team, which raised more than $13,000.

Lori Smith, who works in the village's information technology department, raised more than $3,500 of that figure.

The team decided on a "Shrek" theme. Smith was the fairy godmother, replete with wings, while police Officer Jeff Marra was Shrek.

The team had 31 plungers, including seven police employees.

Members of the team had a personal interest.

"I have two people in my family that have special needs," Smith said.

Marra's wife, Lauren, is a fifth-grade special education teacher at Hawthorn Elementary School North in Vernon Hills.

Also part of the team was Ryan Wollberg, principal at Woodland Elementary East and West schools in Gages Lake.

"It was a great experience leading up to it until about five seconds before, and then I got a little nervous," he said. "Imagine a billion ice cubes hitting you at once. And times that by a billion."