Michael McIsaac swimming in December, 2014, on the North shores of Lake Ontario. He has been training for months, spending up to six hours a day in the pool and plans to start the 51-kilometre swim on August 21.Nicholas Staubitz/The Globe and Mail
The gift: Raising $100,000
The cause: Douglas Wright Foundation
The reason: To fund research into melanoma
Michael McIsaac has participated in some gruelling events over the years, completing the Ironman triathlon and running marathons. But he has always wanted to do something even more strenuous – swim across Lake Ontario.
"I just see the lake and think maybe I can do it," said Mr. McIsaac, 32, a lawyer at Toronto-based Beard Winter LLP.
When a friend of a friend, Douglas Wright, passed away after battling melanoma, Mr. McIsaac decided to take the plunge, literally, and swim across the lake to raise money for a foundation set up in Mr. Wright's name to fund research into melanoma. He has been training for months, spending up to six hours a day in the pool and dipping into the lake last winter.
Mr. McIsaac plans to start the 51-kilometre swim on Aug. 21 and hopes to finish about 21 hours later. While completing the swim will be a major accomplishment, Mr. McIsaac said his real goal is raising $100,000 for the Douglas Wright Foundation. "I'll be pretty devastated if I don't do that," he said.
pwaldie@globeandmail.com