Tim Xiros and his dad Elias have taken on and successfully completed the Cole Classic ocean water swim held at Sydney’s Manly Beach on 5 February, 2012. Tim, who has HSP, and his extended family and huge network of friends have been great Foundation supporters since the start. Here is the story of their latest adventure.
Tim writes:
“I have always wanted to do a competitive swim with Dad but have never managed to meet him at Ashfield Pool for his 6am daily swim! While on holidays up at Hawks Nest over Christmas, we decided it was time
to do something about it. We chose the Cole Classic – the challenge to swim the 1km leg from Shelly Beach to Manly Beach to raise funds for the HSP Research Foundation. We are trying to raise as much money as we can for this great cause.
Despite the grey skies and rainy summer we’ve had, our training was going exceptionally well. Dad was undertaking his daily morning ritual at Ashfield Pool and I managed 30 laps at Enfield Pool, not at 6am though. Thanks to JB the lifeguard at Enfield for his photography skills!
So, finally the day arrived and it turned out to be truly an amazing day. The event was very well organised with the surf club putting on a great show for more than 5,000 swimmers. The lifeguards were out in force both in and out of the water, ensuring all swimmers were in good hands and well hydrated. Heaps of promo from sponsors Fairfax and Nova to collect on the promenade at the end of the race too!
We finished!!! Despite the organisers changing the course due to the choppy conditions, we both managed to finish the swim under 40 minutes! Dad’s time was 37:10 and mine was 39:41, but I reckon that he may have had a bit of assistance from the Manly surf patrol…. The race was hard work! At half way I thought that I would be spending the night in ER at Royal North Shore Hospital!
The fundraising exceeded all our expectations! The total stands at $6,080 raised for the Foundation and still counting!! Many thanks to everyone for giving and for their support via SMS and email. Just when I was thinking of putting up my hand for assistance from the lifeguards, thinking of your support gave me that extra bit of energy to get me to the finish line! Hoping to recover to swim again next year!!
Editor’s Note: You can still contribute to show your support and appreciation for Tim & Elias’ effort. Just go to:
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/tim_xiros_5 and click on the DONATE NOW button there.
Enter an Event: If Tim & Elias’ story has inspired you, check out all the events for which the HSP Research Foundation is one of the listed charities. Any member of the HSP community… or family, friends or co-workers can sign up for any of these events and raise money to fund the research to find a cure for HSP. The list of events is enormous… events of all types, from all over Australia, and all year long. Check them out at:
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/events/calendar
http://www.gofundraise.com.au/events/search