Del Webb Naples resident Sam Biondo swam 1,000 miles this year to a worldwide second-place finish in Garmin’s 2023 Endurance Swim Challenge, surprising himself and outpacing some of the premier marathon swimmers on the planet. Making the victory even sweeter, Biondo completed the challenge the week of his 71st birthday, the final yard, the final inch in Del Webb’s lap pool clocked, locked and recorded for posterity by his Garmin swim watch.

“I was the oldest challenger – Del Webb was representing – and I was the second in the world to accomplish it,” he said.

Although he averaged 2 to 3 miles several times a week before accepting the year-long challenge, Biondo’s regular routine fell far short of the 1,000-mile mark and his single longest swim was the 4.4-mile open-water Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in Maryland. The 2023 competition, a field of 263, included distance marathoners who’ve covered the 21 miles across the English Channel, the 28.5-mile 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan Island and the 30-something miles in the Atlantic Ocean circumnavigating Madeira Island, Portugal.

“I knew it was going to be brutal,” said Biondo, who was invited to participate by a group of long-distance swimmers through Garmin’s Connect app. “After all, 1,000 miles requires almost three miles every day for 365 days, and my wife and I had already scheduled almost two months away for traveling with no access to distance swimming.”

Biondo bypassed the shorter 100- to 300-mile endurance challenges, opting instead for both the 500- and 1,000-mile swims.

“The real goal was reaching 500 miles,” he reasoned. “1,000 was just a dream.”

Biondo calculated his initial training goal to his age. He’d swim 6,000 yards daily for the first 70 days, amassing 42,000 yards in a week and 420,000, or almost 250 miles, in the allotted timeframe, figuring if – and a big if, at that – he accomplished the goal, the entire 1.76 million yards was a possibility. Biondo reached the first milestone in March, realizing if he committed every available day, he could keep up with 1,000-mile swimmers tracked and displayed on Garmin’s online leaderboard.

At home in Del Webb in June, he ramped up to 10,000 yards (5.7 miles) daily for the month and added another 168 miles to his tally. “I was second on the leaderboard by then and I knew, barring injury to my 70-year-old body, I could do it,” he said. “So, I slowed way down and added gym work, to save my body, and went for it.”

In October, Biondo’s Garmin recorded the 1,000th mile, the 1,760,000th yard.

“I thought I’d be ecstatic, but it really was more like just surreal relief,” he said. “I felt like Forrest Gump when he just stopped running, and went back home to Greenbow, Alabama. I was done… but I got a cool T-shirt. What people will do just for a shirt, eh?”

Whether swimming, court sports, golf, fitness or wellness, Del Webb Naples in top-selling Ave Maria caters to residents’ passions, featuring an active social lifestyle for adults 55+. An expansive amenity campus offers an 8,000-square-foot resort-inspired pool, a separate three-lane lap pool, the Rusty Putter Restaurant, and two clubhouses providing 30,000 square feet of activity rooms, a large social hall, card and game rooms, a fitness center, group fitness studio, a complementary golf simulator, and extensive indoor and outdoor gathering spaces.

Del Webb Naples is also home to Panther Run Golf Course, offering 18 holes of optional championship golf.

With 12 lighted pickleball courts, the community is known across the region for an active and popular program. Additional outdoor amenities include two tennis courts, four bocce courts, a community garden, amphitheater, a firepit lounge and alfresco venues for gathering in intimate and large groups.

A full-time social director coordinates a busy calendar of events, activities, classes, clubs and so much more.

Del Webb Naples offers an array of home choices and 19 consumer-inspired floor plans for all lifestyles, whether upsizing, downsizing or rightsizing. Villas, carriage homes and single-family homes feature two to five bedrooms, two to four bathrooms and 1,448 to over 2,800 square feet and showcase lake, preserve and golf course views. Created by Del Webb, the nation’s pioneer in 55+ active-adult communities, open-concept home designs blend gathering rooms, cafés and island kitchens into spacious main living areas, offer private lanais or balconies for outdoor living, and feature walk-in closets in owners’ suites, and integrated energy-saving and smart home features.

Homes in Del Webb Naples start in the low $300,000s, with quick move-in homes available for immediate and near-immediate occupancy. Model homes are open daily.

For more information about Del Webb Naples, visit DelWebb.com/Naples or call 239-842-9643.

About Del Webb

Del Webb is a national brand of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM). Del Webb is the pioneer in active adult communities and America’s leading builder of new homes targeted to pre-retirement and retiring boomers. Del Webb builds consumer-inspired homes and communities for active adults ages 55+ who want to continue to explore, grow and learn, socially, physically and intellectually as they look forward to retirement. For more information on Del Webb, visit delwebb.com.

About PulteGroup, Inc.

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of America’s largest homebuilding companies with operations in more than 40 markets throughout the country. Through its brand portfolio that includes Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods and American West, the company is one of the industry’s most versatile homebuilders able to meet the needs of multiple buyer groups and respond to changing consumer demand. PulteGroup conducts extensive research to provide homebuyers with innovative solutions and consumer inspired homes and communities to make lives better.

For more information about PulteGroup, Inc. and PulteGroup brands, go to pultegroup.com; pulte.com; centex.com; delwebb.com; divosta.com; jwhomes.com; and americanwesthomes.com. Follow PulteGroup, Inc. on Twitter: @PulteGroupNews.