A MEMBER of staff from Peebles High School is preparing to make a splash for charity by swimming the entire length of Loch Lomond.

Ahead of her 22-mile end-to-end swim, which will take 14 hours, on Monday, Caroline Connor has trained for the event at the Peebles Hydro Hotel nearly every day since setting herself a goal back in September last year.

Caroline has received a wave of support and encouragement from her friends and colleagues at Peebles High School, and the leisure club staff and members at Peebles Hydro through her regular swimming sessions.

The inspiration for the event came after Caroline was awarded a Diabetes UK Care in Schools Award last year, for her advice and support given to pupils suffering from the condition.

Caroline told the Border Telegraph: “Receiving the award was a wonderful surprise, especially as it was the parents and medical professionals who nominated me. 

“I really enjoy working with the pupils. Type one diabetes is a very complex condition especially for young people and can easily make life very difficult for them, so any help and advice I can give to them to make things seem more manageable is the very least I can do. 

“My challenge of swimming the length of Loch Lomond, which will take me around 14 hours, is nothing compared to what the pupils have to endure every single day. When I start to feel the pain, I will just think about them and that will get me through it.

“The feeling at the end of the swim will be amazing and I can’t wait to start the challenge. I just hope the water temperature in July will be warmer than the four degrees I am training in just now.

“The Leisure Club Staff have been fantastic, encouraging me when I was having a bad session in the pool and filling me with lots of positive happy thoughts about what I was attempting to do. I can’t thank them enough.” 

Bethany Bland, the Hydro’s leisure club manager said: “Caroline’s commitment to completing this challenge has been nothing but 110 per cent since she announced to us what she was going to do.

“We all wish her the best of luck on the day and know doubt she will be back to the pool to tell us all about it when she gets home.”

To donate to Caroline’s cause, visit her page at: https://www.justgiving.com/caroline-CONNOR1?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=caroline-CONNOR1&utm_campaign=pfp-email