Those are the words of Scott Gladman, a 62-year-old farmer, father and grandfather who is aiming to become the first person to swim the entire length of the Darling River.
Serpentine-born Mr Gladman will swim approximately 1650km from the headwaters of the Darling River to its junction with the Murray. The journey will see him swim around 16km every day for 100 days.
Subject to water levels and conditions, Mr Gladman will begin his journey on September 1.
The manager of a cropping farm that specialises in cereal production was inspired to take on this challenge in support of his friend Russell Wardle.
Mr Wardle was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a little known cousin of Parkinson’s.
Mr Gladman has also watched family friends battle motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s, and has had his own health challenges.
“I’ve had my own health scares; I had three stents put in about a decade ago, but I consider myself lucky, I’ve been able to get patched up and going again,” he said.
“But a good mate from Tooleybuc is living with progressive supranuclear palsy, and my son has a mate at Serpentine with MND, and sadly, there’s no cure for either.”
Mr Gladman added that he had seen the effect that these conditions had, not just on the person diagnosed, but also the wider community.
“It’s not just the person suffering the condition, it’s their families and the ripple effect on the whole community,” he said.
For those living in rural or regional communities, the challenges can be even greater. Specialist care and support is often harder to access, and people may have to travel further to receive it.
Mr Gladman is taking on the swim, known as ‘Fight The Current’, to raise funds for Parkinson’s Australia and MND Victoria.
Already he has raised more than $180,000.
He has committed to the challenge despite only taking up distance swimming about 18 months ago.
He has been in training for over a year, working with specialist swim coaches. He has also undertaken strength work and safety planning, as well as a multi-day trial run.
Among the challenges he will face are the physical demands of swimming day after day for three months. He will also have to contend with constantly changing river conditions, weather and water levels among some of Australia’s most rugged and remote landscapes.
“I’ve trained for more than a year and I know I’m as prepared as I can possibly be, but there’s still a moment where you look at 1650km and think, ‘What have I signed myself up for?’” Mr Gladman said.
Despite the possible obstacles, he is excited to take on the challenge.
“It’s daunting, but I’m also incredibly excited,” Mr Gladman said.
“If I can finish this swim, knowing we’ve raised awareness and helped generate funding for these diseases, it will all be worth it.”
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