WATCH: Portland’s Polar Plunge

A huge crowd of crazy Mainers gathered over the weekend for the annual Polar Dip and Dash. It started with a 5k run around Baxter Boulevard and ended with participants cooling down in the most rapid way around! Wearing only swim trunks, bikinis or wet suits they bomb in and then bomb out like the first shark sighting scene in Jaws. The race around Back Cove had an incredibly intense finish at East End Beach as brave and crazy folks of all ages took a plunge into the icy cold water of Casco Bay on the last day of 2016. This yearly event benefits the Natural Resources Council of Maine to raise funds and perpetuate awareness of climate change.