Fifty-two years carries many challenges but this summer the number 52 will not only represent John Munro's age but will also translate into how many kilometres the Kingston swimmer must travel before touching ground.
On August. 9 Munro, a retired police officer, will swim across Lake Ontario in an effort to raise a goal of $77,600 for Kingston's Special Kids. He will also tackle Lake Erie on July 5 but it is Lake Ontario which will be the longer of the two.
On Wednesday. Munro and his wife Vicki Keith, former marathon swimmer, spoke to a group of residents at Hallowell House Retirement Home about his upcoming swims and how he and his wife have been helping children with special needs.
Munro and Keith both currently work with the Kingston Y Penguins, a swim team designed for children with disabilities. John has dedicated both of the upcoming swims to these children.
Taking questions from a small group of residents at the home, Munro explained his Lake Ontario swim is expected to take 24 hours during which he cannot come out of the water for anything.
"I can't touch anything for support. If I want to eat a meal then I'll tread water and eat it in the water. I won't touch anything until I get to the other side," he explained. For nourishment during the swims Munro noted he'll eat foods which are easily digested yet contain the needed nutrients and vitamins for such hard labour.
Keith also chimed in noting her husband will even "do what the fishes do" if nature happens to come calling.
Lake traffic can always cause concerns when a swimmer takes on a feat such as Munro's but with a fairly large crew helping him and informing the Coast Guard of what will be taking place there should be no accidents. Freighters are always given the right of way in such situations and if other boats are in the vicinity someone from Munro's crew will try to make contact before the vessel gets too close.
"It's always better if a freighter passes behind me," Munro noted, "because that way I'm not swimming through the cold, cold water a ship like that will stir up."
Though both swims will obviously require a great deal of preparation Munro and Keith were more eager to talk about the Kingston
Y Penguins club. They both stressed having these children in a pool offers them the chance to do something they may, in other places, never have the ability to participate.
"It's kids that need a place to belong," Keith commented adding though the team was created for physically disabled children they encourage siblings to join so they can play with their brother or sister in an environment which allows better interaction.
Keith further noted one great advantage to coaching these children as opposed to maybe coaching a hockey team, is that winning is far down on the priority list. In essence, the parents have put their children on the team just so they can participate.
