In honour of her late father, Surrey害羞草研究所檚 Jen Soti celebrated her 50th birthday with a sometimes frigid six-hour swim in Harrison Lake.
She swam 15 kilometres Thursday, Aug. 17, followed by a 35-kilometre run/walk on forest roads back to the bay where the swim started earlier that day, at around 5:20 a.m.
Soti害羞草研究所檚 50K journey was done as a fundraiser for Ecojustice Canada in tribute to her father, Jim Keeling Jr., who drowned in Harrison Lake 27 years ago in a boating accident, at age 50, in May 1996.
For Soti, it was a 害羞草研究所渕emorable害羞草研究所� milestone birthday.
害羞草研究所淚 had all these people out celebrating with me so it was certainly a meaningful day, for sure,害羞草研究所� she said later.
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Soti, a recreation professional, began her swim at Blind Bay, near where her father died, and made her way south to a beach/boat launch about a kilometre from Harrison Hot Springs Resort.
害羞草研究所淭he lake was super kind to me at first, calm,害羞草研究所� she reported. 害羞草研究所淏ut once I passed Echo Island, that害羞草研究所檚 where I was told it gets colder. There were sections that were absolutely freezing, so I was very surprised to feel how cold it truly is, but then it would warm up, which was quite odd. It wasn害羞草研究所檛 cold the entire way, it was just little pockets of it.害羞草研究所�
She knows how dangerous the lake can be.
害羞草研究所淢y father drowned there,害羞草研究所� she underlined. 害羞草研究所淪o all of that went through my head as I was swimming and tried to stay calm in some confused water, too.
害羞草研究所淥verall, it was good and I felt very happy with the swim, which was long 害羞草研究所� around six hours, 27 minutes,害羞草研究所� Soti added. 害羞草研究所淭hat was the longest I害羞草研究所檝e ever swam. I did some long swims at Sasamat Lake (in training), but not that length of time.害羞草研究所�
Soti is a member of the Keeling family that helped build Cloverdale Raceway horse track (now Fraser Downs) in Surrey. Her grandfather, Jim Keeling Sr., was a co-founder of the track, which opened in 1976. In 1980 he gave the reins to his son, Soti害羞草研究所檚 father.
Keeling Jr. was a lawyer by profession and served on the board of Sierra Legal Defence Fund, now known as Ecojustice Canada, the nation害羞草研究所檚 largest environmental law charity.
害羞草研究所� RELATED: .
Soti explains her money-raising motivation and offered updates in , where more than $6,700 has been collected, so far.
害羞草研究所淭hat exceeded the goal, which was initially $2,500 and then I raised it to $3,000, then $6,000,害羞草研究所� she explained.
害羞草研究所淎s my husband said, the money raised was a bonus,害羞草研究所� she added. 害羞草研究所淵ou know, people from my walking group drove from Surrey to Harrison, made signs and brought birthday cake. That support stayed with me, so it was a meaningful event.
害羞草研究所淚 hope to do it again next year,害羞草研究所� Soti said. 害羞草研究所淚 wouldn害羞草研究所檛 do the fundraising but I would probably just make a donation on behalf of my dad.害羞草研究所�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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