Last year, head of research at JM Finn, Sir John Royden, attempted to become the eighth person to swim the entire length of Lake Geneva. Unfortunately, after 28 miles the life guard pulled him from the water suspecting he had hypothermia.
Next month, he is going back to finish what he started. With just over 14 miles to go, Sir John is hoping to complete the last stretch in around 12 hours of continuous swimming. He will tread water at regular intervals while he is fed.
Sir John is no stranger to long distance swimming. He swam the English Channel in 1993 and remembers thinking “I’m not knackered, I could have done a bit more”.
He has wanted to do a harder challenge for some time, but it is a significant commitment – both financially and personally. It relies on a lot of support from family and friends.
Sir John stresses how grateful he is to his wife Sarah, who has been supporting him throughout his gruelling training swims and will be on the support boat during the swim.
He spends a lot of his weekends at either Dover harbour or the Cotswolds Water Park – swimming for up to 10 hours a day.
Sir John is not just motivated by the personal challenge. He is also raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity.
He is swimming in memory of his sister Emma, who passed away from a brain tumour at just 32 in 2003. Sir John is also swimming in memory of his friend and mentor, former head of research at JM Finn, Geordie Kidston.
“Raising money does keep you going” during the long training swims and the difficult moments in the water, Sir John notes.
He is also very passionate about the charity.
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK, yet only garners around three percent of the £600 million annual spend on cancer research.
Sir John believes The Brain Tumour Charity is working hard to change this and has grown significantly in the past six years.
“It has achieved amazing results on a cost basis,” Sir John says.
The charity has two main focuses currently: to improve the efficacy of drugs; and to pursue early diagnosis.
So far, he has raised a staggering £410,000 for the charity.
Although this has “exceeded all of [his] expectations”, Sir John would love to reach £500,000.
JM Finn is sponsoring the swim, which means all the money raised can go directly to the charity.
The fundraising page for ‘John’s mad swim’ can be found here
