Deanna Marks

Hometown and Current residence: Originally from Plano, Texas and currently living in Bentonville, Arkansas

Family and Occupation: I have a fiance, Brendon and three furry family members.  I work for ExxonMobil as a Shopper Marketing Manager

Favorite event/race:  200 Fly

Swimming background: I swam competitively on the City of Plano Swimmers since the age of 6.  Went on to swim D1 at the University of Kansas.  After graduating I moved to Seattle for my first role with ExxonMobil and took a bit of a break from swimming.  I trained for a marathon and did other various activities until finding my way back to the pool in the form of water polo.  Water polo brought me back to swimming and when I moved back to Arkansas, I was re-inspired to keep doing the thing I loved – swimming to compete.  I continue to be inspired by my swimming squad at the BCC & Melvin Ford. 

Swimming hero: Dara Torres – she’s just a legend!

Swimming goals: Swimming goals: I just can’t wait for the next competitive meet!  I know I won’t be as fast as I was in college, but now it’s just fun to see how fast I can go.  I just recently swam the MS Trifest 5K, and I dropped 6 minutes (!!!) from a similar race I did in Seattle. That’s the kind of fun I aim for.

Advice to new masters swimmers: No matter your level, swimming is your journey.  You decide what success is.  If that’s just making it to the pool at 5:30am twice a week, then that’s great!  If it’s something more intense, that’s awesome too!  Also – don’t underestimate the potential of lifting weights to help your swimming, it can pay huge dividends.

Hobbies:  Right now it’s all wedding planning!  But I love to train my dog, take her to agility and paddleboarding.

Favorite drills:  Backwards skulling is my favorite.  It’s just such a unique thing we rarely get to do when we swim and helps you regain feel when you’ve been out of the water for a while.

Do you participate in other sports? I mountain bike and run the occasional competitive long-distance race.  You can also find me casually playing pickleball and competing in the local volleyball league.

Where do you currently swim? I swim in Northwest Arkansas at the Bentonville Community Center and Melvin Ford when it’s open!