KLOOF’s Stephen Hunt raised more than R16 000 for two charities close to his heart when he donned The Cows costume and swam 16 miles during the Midmar Mile weekend.
He arrived at his chalet at midday on the Friday and quickly settled in.
“Swimming long distances is my thing, but nothing could prepare me for what lay ahead. My nerves were shot the entire night,” said Stephen.
On Saturday morning he made his way down to the water to meet with the rest of the 16-mile team and, with their athletic build, he felt slightly intimidated.
“Soon the time had come, I kissed the Mrs goodbye and at 7.15am we were called to the water,” he said.
Five minutes later the group began their first leg in the crystal clear waters of Midmar Dam.
“The first leg was easy. We reached the other side and had a nice rest before starting the day’s competition,” said Stephen.
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As the siren blared to kick off the first race, Stephen and the rest of the 16-mile team joined a few other hundred swimmers. Their seconders in canoe’s signalled to them that the end was near.
“As I reached the end, a sigh of relief came and I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t too bad.'”
It was during the turnaround when the swells in the dam picked up due to the harsh winds. Stephen described that leg as harsh as he was battered by both the waves and wind.
“I soon fell to the back of the line and my seconder kept asking me if I was okay, but I pushed on. Soon after, the weather turned for the worst and swimmers were pulled out of the water due to lightning. Forty five minutes or so later, it was back to the waters after another nice, long rest,” said Stephen.
Stephen said the fourth leg of the race was his best as he completed it in 27 minutes but as he turned around to complete the fifth lap, he felt broken mentally and physically.
“The only thoughts running through my mind at that stage were, ‘Why? Why did I sign up for this? Why would someone do this?'”
“I soon realised I had hit my wall, battered and choked by every wave left and right. I was going nowhere slowly. I had to dig deep very deep and lo and behold, land came,” he laughed.
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He pushed through the final three legs of day one and relaxed for the rest of the evening. In the perfect weather on day two, he completed the first five miles without a hitch and was mentally prepared for the sixth and seventh races, but his body was not. He pushed through.
During the final leg of the race, he continued to repeat the phrase, ‘I’m done’ and pushed himself to the finish line.
“As I reached the end, I could see my teammates in the distance. I was the last one in. As I touched the floor of the finish, a tear or two fell. My teammates all huddled for pictures and then I saw my family on the side. It turned very emotional by this time with long hugs and tearful eyes,” he said.
Stephen raised R16 730 for the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC) and the Duzi Umngeni Conservation Trust and said, when he looked back, he would gladly do it all again next year.
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