Libertyville hair stylist swims English Channel

Aurora Gore may consider herself as somewhat a celebrity.

The 28-year-old has been approached by strangers who know something special about her even while she's working as a hair stylist at Mario Tricocci in Libertyville.

“I'd be in the middle cutting hair and people would walk by and they would stop and say, ‘you're the stylist who swam the English Channel,'” Gore said.

It's a rare feat that, for Gore, started with one mile.

It was after her first mile swimming race that she became inspired to marathon swim, and that led her to be one of less than 2,000 people to swim the English Channel.

“If I never swam that one-mile race to find out if I could do it, I would have never swam the English Channel,” she said. “Small steps are just as important as the big ones.”

Gore began swimming competitively, racing one to six miles at events across the United States. Her coach, Craig Strong, who had previously trained another athlete to successfully make the 21-mile swim, suggested that Gore attempt the English Channel crossing.

“I thought it was a little bit of a stretch,” she admits. “I was good at six miles, but anything over that seemed scary.”

Taking second place at a national competition within her age group gave her the confidence that swimming the English Channel could be accomplished, Gore said.

There were times she had doubt. Within a close-knit swimming community, she said she knew three people who attempted but did not complete the swim.

“It became really scary, I could wind up being one of those few who did not make it,” she said.

Gore said the big reason swimmers may not complete the swim is the cold water, which on average is below 60 degrees, and often hypothermia can set in after swimming more than 14 hours. Laughing and adding some called her crazy, Gore said she took cold showers, and once a week submerged herself in an ice bath for a year to prepare.

“It teaches your body how to circulate your blood to keep you from going hypothermic. Your body becomes naturally used to being that cold,” she said.

Gore trained 18 months, which included speed swims and weekend swims up to 10 hours. Part of her training also was learning to adjust to the currents. While she adds it was dangerous, she swam in Lake Michigan during high tide to simulate possible conditions.

Gore began her English Channel swim at 8 a.m. Sept. 23 at Shakespeare Beach. Among family and friends to accompany her by boat was her husband, Josh.

“He said, at first I thought you were nuts. He did a good job of playing off the shock as support for awhile,” she said. “Once he saw me complete the channel, he really saw how much it meant to me and understood.”

Normally, swimmers finish at Cap Gris Nez, but within one mile from shore, currents pushed Gore off course. So what may take 21 miles to finish for some took her 25 miles to end at Cap Blanc Nez in France.

The finish, she added, was the scariest moment, because she had to swim in total darkness. As she approached shore, she couldn't see if she would approach sand, rocks or a cliff.

Approaching a beach that was about 1 yard long with a cliff behind it, she completed the swim in 14 hours, 10 minutes.

“It still feels like a dream. I don't know if it will ever completely feel real because the idea of swimming from one country to another is surreal,” she said.

The English Channel has been attracting swimmers since the 1800s. Gore said what intrigues them is facing this ever-changing body of water to see if they can conquer it. And they know the statistic — more people will scale Mount Everest than will cross the English Channel.

“It is really you putting yourself against nature and seeing how physically fit and mentally prepared you can be to come up against nature and conquer it,” she said.

But finishing the swim was not only a personal victory. She also wanted to honor her stepdad, Dane Popoff, who first introduced her to the pool as a child. Popoff died in 2001 of cellular cancer, and Gore decided to raise money for the Kellogg Cancer Center in Evanston.

To make a donation, visit her website, www.swimthechannel.net.

“If I did the English Channel, I wanted it to have meaning and not just for personal satisfaction but for something greater,” she said.

Gore already is planning future marathon swims, including the Manhattan Marathon and the Catalina Island crossing in California, and adds she will continue to raise money in honor of her stepdad.

She also is researching the possibility of swimming the Irish Channel next year. The distance is shorter, but fewer people have accomplished this due to colder waters, stronger tides and jellyfish.

“There have only been 12 soloists who have done it, and there has not been an American woman that has crossed,” Gore said.