Marathon Man's Bristol Channel Swim
Former ECSC swimmer, turned Marathon Swimmer, Neil Gilson has been training hard for months and now he is less than two weeks away from his huge challenge - to swim from Swansea to Ilfracombe, across the Bristol Channel.
On Saturday 17th July, Neil is due to arrive on the beach at Hele Bay, Ilfracombe in the evening between approximately 6pm to 8pm if all goes to plan. Neil will have swam the 24 miles across the fearsome tides of the Bristol Channel, to raise further awareness for Pans Pandas, a charity so close to him and his family's hearts, after the support they gave to them with their young son's condition.
As well as all his training, Neil has been raising awareness of his challenge and the charity over the past year, to raise further awareness of the amazing work that the charity undertakes, by being interviewed with his family on Steph's Packed Lunch on C4, BBC Radio Devon and others. More details of the charity can be found via the below link.
(Below picture credit C4 - Youtube)
Neil and his family have also been featured a lot in the local media and below is the link to the recent article in Devon Live.
Members of Exeter City Swimming Club intend to be on the beach at Hele Bay to welcome Neil back to dry land and to celebrate his achievement. Some members of the club intend to swim the last mile back to the beach with him too. A sea of bright green swim hats hopefully!
Neil's close friend and another former member of ECSC, Liam Tancock and his company Swimzi, have produced a commemorative swim hat for his challenge, which people can get their hands on the evening of his arrival in Ilfracombe, with all proceeds going towards Pans Pandas. The hat colour? Bright green of course!!
Good luck with the final preparations for your challenge Neil and see you on the beach!
