Swimmer to tackle 12km swim at Midmar Mile to raise funds for charity

Sandton-based Fallon Finlayson will swim eight miles this year at the Midmar Mile in a bid to raise funds for a cause which she is passionate about.

Finlayson is part of a small group of swimmers who will swim eight miles over the course of the weekend. Each swimmer in the group commits to raising money for a charity of their choice. For Finlayson, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a special cause which helps to manage more than 120 protected areas.

Finlayson has been swimming since she was a little girl and now competes as a Gauteng triathlete. However, swimming will always remain her biggest passion.

“I always absolutely loved being in the water. Whether it is pools, dams or the sea, you could say water is definitely my element,” she said.

She first swam the Midmar Mile in 2007 after not having swum for three years. The race proved to be a challenging one with bad conditions but Finlayson loved it regardless. She has been swimming the Midmar Mile since and continues to be passionate about the sport she first pursued as a little girl.

Members of the 8 Mile Club swim just more than 12km over the weekend, which proves challenging for even experienced swimmers. “The first year I did the 8 mile swim, I realised how undertrained I was. Things are different now that I know where my training should be. Never the less, it’s still never something easy to do… it’s a mental battle getting through the second day of swimming. Other than that, you can’t help but love the weekend.”

In 2012, Finlayson started raising money for charity through her swimming and has been hooked ever since. Last year the 8 Mile Club helped raise just more than R3 million for a variety of charities. “It’s an incredible feeling, putting in so much hard work of training up to the event, working as hard as you can to raise money for the charity in these hard economic times and then when you are in the Midmar Dam and swimming all those miles, knowing it’s all for a good cause.”

However, Finlayson added that each year it becomes a bit more difficult to raise money due to tough economic conditions. She highlighted that even a small donation added up and helped contribute to the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife conservation. Finlayson will be completing the Midmar Mile on 9 and 10 February.

For more details contact Fallon at fallonfinlayson@gmail.com

Share your thoughts on the 8 Mile Club on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page

Related Articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/175554/crawford-college-swims-the-midmar-mile/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/197162/french-schoolchildren-compete-in-midmar-mile/