Sometimes the most unexpected conversations leave the deepest impression. In Episode 33, Mary Ann LeRay sits down with Stephen Wargo, a solo marathon swimmer from Cleveland, Ohio, who found his way to The Filling Station studio through a visit to his daughter Lauren and a spot in the Neuse River Bridge Run. What started as a conversation about an endurance sport turned into something much bigger, touching on faith, perseverance, and what it really means to live for others.
Stephen has spent years swimming open water, including a 19-hour crossing of Lake Erie through a storm and through darkness, raising money for the Cleveland City Mission along the way. He does not swim to compete. He swims because having something bigger than yourself changes everything about why you show up and how far you can go. That philosophy carries him through the water and, as he describes it, through life itself.
The conversation finds its way to New Bern too, and Stephen does not hold back his appreciation for this town or for the Bridge Run, an event he praises for its organization, its scenery, and the way it channels community energy toward local nonprofits. His daughter Lauren works for Duke Energy, one of The Filling Station's valued supporters, which made this visit feel like anything but a coincidence.
Stephen closes with a thought worth sitting with: the joy we are looking for is usually found on the other side of doing something for someone else. For a man who has spent hours alone in open water, that is a lesson learned the hard way and worth every stroke.
