Every year that I manage to swim this event feels more special than the year before.

Year 1 (2014) - I was amazed that I could pull it off.

Year 2 (2017) - Just to do it twice! Year 3 (2018) - Could I perhaps make it 3?

Year 3 (2018) - I could actually get to 3.

Year 4 (2019) - Erin's first Midmar.

Year 5 (2020) – Erin did two this year, Saturday and Sunday...

Year 6 (2021) - Lockdown, almost everything was virtual, but we got to swim at the dam and even got to swim Midmar backwards a couple of times.

Now I'm facing year 7 and it seems everything has been done. Erin, however, had other thoughts and decided that she was going swim her first 8 Mile given that her age now renders her eligible.

Can Midmar get any better!!!

It's my 5th year swimming for The Cows (CHOC), that in itself is a real privilege, but to get to do this with my daughter is an honor beyond what I could ever have imagined when I decided tackle the 8 Mile. Initially I was simply aiming to make the trip from Johannesburg worth the effort, after all, it didn’t make sense to drive all that way for a single swim.

Whilst Erin will, perhaps, slow down in order for me to catch her wake into the finish, she has promised to hang back to allow us to finish our last swim (first 8 Mile) together. I cannot wait…

More important than everything above is the actual reason why we swim this event. It is a huge privilege to play a very small role in the work that CHOC does to support both childhood cancer sufferers and their families. Please go and have a look at their website to see just how much passion these guys put into their work. I am truly humbled to be a small part of such an incredible group of people.

This year was in doubt until recently due to a fractured vertebra in my thoracic spine, suffered as a result of a bicycle accident in August, I'm happy to report that my recovery is coming along nicely.