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| Jessie Sheppard plans to swim the Northumberland Strait on Sunday, July 13. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
She鈥檚 ready to take the plunge. After months of long-distance training and suffering from 鈥渟wimmer鈥檚 hickey,鈥� (the annoying chafing you get from bathing-suit straps), Jessie Sheppard is poised to do a 13-kilometre swim across the Northumberland Strait.
鈥淚 kind of don鈥檛 believe it yet,鈥� says Ms. Sheppard, 26. 鈥淚鈥檓 not excited. I鈥檓 not scared. I鈥檓 just kind of in a neutral zone. But ask me on Saturday night and I鈥檒l probably have another answer.鈥�
Slathered head to foot in vaseline, she'll聽take to the water when the tide is at its lowest on Sunday morning. She leaves聽from Cape Tormentine, N.B.聽and expects to be on the other side, at Noonan鈥檚 Marsh in Prince Edward Island, by noon or 1 p.m.
The thing is, the swim across the strait is just part one of Jessie鈥檚 big adventure. A month later, she鈥檒l be putting on her hiking boots and climbing Mt. Kilimanjario, the world鈥檚 highest free-standing, snow-covered equatorial mountain. Ms. Sheppard, a master鈥檚 student in health promotion, is embarking on the two marathon challenges as a member of the Arthritis Society鈥檚 Joints In Motion team. Her inspiration鈥攁nd one of her biggest cheerleaders鈥攊s classmate Meg Hasek-Watt who has battled inflammatory arthritis since she was a teenager.
鈥淚鈥檓 just doing things one step at a time, so to speak,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檒l do my swim on Sunday, rest up and totally recover, and then I鈥檒l be right back at it.鈥�
For Ms. Sheppard, it鈥檚 all about health promotion: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good way to show how you can be active in your life 鈥� and maybe it鈥檒l get people thinking to get moving too. I鈥檝e already had a couple friends sign up to do triathlons. They reckon if I can do it, they can too.鈥�
As a Joints In Motion volunteer, Ms. Sheppard is also raising money for the Arthritis Society. She鈥檚 just a wee short of her $9,000 goal. To contribute to her swim and climb, .