Barrington swimmers encounter change of Channel
A pair of Barrington men who had planned separate swims across the English Channel for charity this month encountered very different luck when it comes to the weather.
While Doug McConnell, 53, and Don Macdonald, 49, planned to swim on different days, each hoped conditions throughout mid-August would be as close to ideal as possible to allow them both to take on the challenge.
McConnell got the green light to begin his swim Sunday afternoon — a few days earlier than expected — and 14 hours later became only the 48th person over the age of 50 to conquer the Channel.
McConnell, who lost his father to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) five years ago, was swimming to support the Les Turner ALS Foundation. He has raised $140,000 so far.
On top of that success, the very same day he crossed the Channel, researchers at Northwestern University announced that they had found the common cause of all forms of the disease, a discovery that has some hopeful that an effective treatment might be closer.
His friend, Beth Richman, said McConnell reported encountering many of the obstacles he expected in the Channel, including hulking ships and choppy water.
But those obstacles are nothing compared to what Macdonald has been through. Macdonald, who’s been planning to swim in support of social-emotional learning programs in Barrington Unit District 220, is learning a different lesson about personal resiliency than the one he expected.
Stormy and windy conditions on the days since McConnell’s swim have kept Macdonald from the chance of even starting. His original window has now passed and he’s moving on to planned trips to Paris and Scotland with his family.
But instead of heading to London and then back home afterward, he’ll return to Dover for one last shot at the Channel before Sept. 4.
“I think of D. McArthur ... I shall return ... in a few days,” Macdonald wrote in an email to friends in Barrington. “Thank you all so much for your support, I am facing my personal test of character.”