Nick Else, who lives in Leyland, Lancashire, is taking on the Aspire Channel Swim, swimming 22 miles over 12 weeks to raise funds for the charity Aspire, which supports people with Spinal Cord Injury. The challenge runs from 9th September to 2nd December and is free for anyone of any age or swimming ability to sign up to at www.aspirechannelswim.co.uk.

Nick, who has already raised £250 says, “I have done a couple of similar challenges in the past and was looking for something new and came across the Aspire Channel Swim. I hurt my back in May whilst training and decided to put some effort into getting better at swimming whilst I was recovering. Swimming was always a big part of my routine, but during that time it became the most important part of it. Now I’ve got to a fitness level I am really happy with, it’s just great to be able to do some good with it too.

Initially I had planned to swim 44 miles in one month but because I smashed my initial fundraising goal, I decided to up the stakes and do 100 miles in 10 weeks. I just need to commit to a minimum of 92 lengths every day now!

I always loved swimming as a kid, but completely dropped off in my teens and my weight ballooned to over 20 stone because of it. In my early 30s I lost 10 stone and a huge part of that was getting back into swimming. It’s low impact and super accessible to someone of my size and it really helped with my initial weight loss and rekindled my love of fitness. It’s stuck with me ever since.

Now I swim pretty much every day at All Seasons Leisure Centre in Chorley, Lancashire. I absolutely love it, particularly its amazing mix of cardio and endurance training. Because it's a low-impact workout, it’s a regular choice in my daily routine, when I’ll usually swim in my lunch break. In preparation for this challenge, I’ve just been swimming pretty much every day and working my cardio up to a level where I can swim 64 to 80 lengths really comfortably without the need for a break or stop.

Fundraising is always tricky, especially given the economy and times we’re in, but my friends and family have really come through and made this whole challenge worthwhile. Hopefully I can raise a bit more before the end and get it over the £300 mark.

I don’t know anyone with a spinal cord injury, but I know it’s a devastating and life-changing injury that can affect anyone at any time, so it feels like a really amazing cause to take on a challenge for. If anything I do during this challenge helps the efforts of Aspire with their work, then it has 1000% been worth it.”

Sponsor Nick: https://www.aspirechannelswim.co.uk/fundraising/nicks-22-miles-in-2-weeks

Katy Boyd, who manages the Aspire Channel Swim says, “Every year amazing swimmers all over the UK go to great lengths for Aspire. Over the past 24 years the Aspire Channel Swim has raised over £7 million for people paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury, which helps Aspire support thousands of people annually - something we're hugely proud of. Anyone can take part in the challenge, regardless of ability and we love to see people taking part in different ways! Whether you're taking on all 22 miles yourself, signing up as a team with your friends and family, or swimming the distance in a swim school, sign up for free today and conquer the Channel with us this year.”

Find out more about the Aspire Channel Swim: www.aspirechannelswim.co.uk

Find out more about Aspire: www.aspire.org.uk