3 hours, 3 minutes and 11 seconds! Phew! Thank God that's over! It was cold, very cold and windy and choppy and awful! Out of 39 at the start only 30 of us made it to the end, four or five got out as soon as they put their toe in the water! Thanks for all your support, it definitely gave me the motivation to get in the water in the first place!
Well I thought I would make it a bit tougher this year so on the 18th July 2010 will try Coniston Water. The course is 5.25 miles but this time in a colder deeper lake and in a straight line, which unlike Derwentwater last year means you have no sense of how far you've swum making it a much more mentally challenging swim, and I'm told the mountains make it a very intimidating environment to be in! Hopefully the lake will be above 14 degrees C (it wasn't when Paul did it.) so extra grease may be required! It will probably take me longer than the 3 hours 5 minutes that I finished Derwentwater in last year as I expect to lose all feeling in my hands and feet much sooner which does slow you down somewhat! Any sponsorship is gratefully received and is a real motivator to keep going!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Inspired by Paul's marathon swims last year I felt I would give it a go this year and am planning to swim a 5.25 mile course in Derwentwater in the Lake District on the 15th of August. It's pretty cold (I'm hoping for 16 degrees C) and I'll just be in a swimming costume, hat and goggles. Paul is also swimming as a warm up to his bigger swim of Windermere. See www.justgiving.com/paulyoungswim to read about his endevours.
I'm swimming to raise some money for the Sarah Matheson Trust for Multiple System Atrophy, a relatively rare degenerative disease which Paul's Dad Alistair suffered from. The Sarah Matheson Trust were a great support to Alistair and Linda during his illness which from his diagnosis in 2003 transformed him from an avid dog walker to someone who was bed bound and unable to speak. He somehow managed to remain cheerful in front of us; a raised eyebrow and a smile can say so much! Alistair died in June 2008.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Finally, a big thanks in to Jules, Ed and Alex who are crewing our support boats for us on Saturday.
