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As many of you will know, swimming is part of my DNA! If I don't smell like chlorine or have wet hair then something has gone wrong! Every year I like to challenge myself with a new swim challenge and this is the ultimate event I have always wanted to participate in but at the same time was too scared to consider.

After years of open water swimming I have decided the time is now for me to finally meet this challenge head on and swim across to France! I have managed to convince the most amazing team of 5  swimmers to join me in my madness and to raise awareness and money for this wonderful charity, Aspire.

There is so much about this event that scares me but weirdly not the distance we have to swim, because we do it as a relay.  I know that sitting on a boat bobbing around in the sea alongside the swimmer in the water waiting for my turns in the relay is going to be tough, it is going to most likely mean sea sickness and possibly throwing up (alot!).  I know that my fear for jelly fish and sea weed (yes it's a real fear!) is going to most likely give me many a panic attack in both the training and during the actual event. I know that having to swim with just a swimming costume, hat and goggles for an hour at a time in the middle of the channel in July is going to be REALLY cold. And I know that at somepoint I'm likely to have to swim in the dark and only be able to see the spot light from the boat. But despite all of this I still want to complete this challenge for a few reasons. 

1. I'm mad 2. Challenges motivate me 3. Aspire is such a worthwhile charity 4. I'm mad!

For those of you that know me well you will also know I don't like to ask for sponsorship and most of the time if it is required I pay it myself. However, this event is about creating awareness about the wonderful work that Aspire do so if I didn't ask for your help you wouldn't learn about them....

Spinal cord injuries can happen to anyone, at anytime and it changes a person's life forever. Aspire provides support for those who have recently suffered a spinal injury, including welfare benefits advice, temporary accessible housing and help with independent living, access to assistive technology and assistance with fund raising for essential specialist equipment. Their aim being to help individuals move from injury to independence.

Just £25 can buy special grip cups and glasses for someone with limited hand dexterity.  £1000 will provide a rise and fall hob or sink so that a wheel chair user can access them and £3000 buys a made to measure lightweight wheelchair to give someone with a spinal cord injury the freedom of travelling without assistance.

To reassure you, any donation you give me, however large or small, to help me through those long cold, dark training swims and the actual event will all be going straight to Aspire and not paying for me to do this event. It's important to me that the cost of competing in the event is something I pay for myself, so every penny I raise will go to Aspire. So thank you on behalf and them for your contribution.

And thank you from me for supporting me to complete this quite frankly epic/stupid/crazy challenge!

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.