In honour of her late father, SurreyB次元官网网址檚 Jen Soti celebrated her 50th birthday with a sometimes frigid six-hour swim in Harrison Lake.
She swam 15 kilometres Thursday, Aug. 17, followed by a 35-kilometre run/walk on forest roads back to the bay where the swim started earlier that day, at around 5:20 a.m.
SotiB次元官网网址檚 50K journey was done as a fundraiser for Ecojustice Canada in tribute to her father, Jim Keeling Jr., who drowned in Harrison Lake 27 years ago in a boating accident, at age 50, in May 1996.
For Soti, it was a B次元官网网址渕emorableB次元官网网址� milestone birthday.
B次元官网网址淚 had all these people out celebrating with me so it was certainly a meaningful day, for sure,B次元官网网址� she said later.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW PHOTOS
Soti, a recreation professional, began her swim at Blind Bay, near where her father died, and made her way south to a beach/boat launch about a kilometre from Harrison Hot Springs Resort.
B次元官网网址淭he lake was super kind to me at first, calm,B次元官网网址� she reported. B次元官网网址淏ut once I passed Echo Island, thatB次元官网网址檚 where I was told it gets colder. There were sections that were absolutely freezing, so I was very surprised to feel how cold it truly is, but then it would warm up, which was quite odd. It wasnB次元官网网址檛 cold the entire way, it was just little pockets of it.B次元官网网址�
She knows how dangerous the lake can be.
B次元官网网址淢y father drowned there,B次元官网网址� she underlined. B次元官网网址淪o all of that went through my head as I was swimming and tried to stay calm in some confused water, too.
B次元官网网址淥verall, it was good and I felt very happy with the swim, which was long B次元官网网址� around six hours, 27 minutes,B次元官网网址� Soti added. B次元官网网址淭hat was the longest IB次元官网网址檝e ever swam. I did some long swims at Sasamat Lake (in training), but not that length of time.B次元官网网址�
Soti is a member of the Keeling family that helped build Cloverdale Raceway horse track (now Fraser Downs) in Surrey. Her grandfather, Jim Keeling Sr., was a co-founder of the track, which opened in 1976. In 1980 he gave the reins to his son, SotiB次元官网网址檚 father.
Keeling Jr. was a lawyer by profession and served on the board of Sierra Legal Defence Fund, now known as Ecojustice Canada, the nationB次元官网网址檚 largest environmental law charity.
B次元官网网址� RELATED: .
Soti explains her money-raising motivation and offered updates in , where more than $6,700 has been collected, so far.
B次元官网网址淭hat exceeded the goal, which was initially $2,500 and then I raised it to $3,000, then $6,000,B次元官网网址� she explained.
B次元官网网址淎s my husband said, the money raised was a bonus,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淵ou know, people from my walking group drove from Surrey to Harrison, made signs and brought birthday cake. That support stayed with me, so it was a meaningful event.
B次元官网网址淚 hope to do it again next year,B次元官网网址� Soti said. B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 do the fundraising but I would probably just make a donation on behalf of my dad.B次元官网网址�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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