Chad English expected swimming 116 kilometres across Lake of the Woods would test him physically.
Months before he entered the water, his focus was on logistics. He planned routes, calculated how much food and water he would need, made sure the support boat had enough fuel and followed a demanding training schedule that prepared him for five-hour days in open water.
Children walked up to him on the beach and handed him their allowance. Parents thanked him for giving their families something to rally around. Strangers stopped him to say they had followed every Facebook update, cheering him on from shore as he swam toward Kenora.
“I was thinking very technically of the swim,” English told the Miner and News after the epic conclusion. “I realized that when it was all said and done, there was going to be this huge thing way bigger than me.”
Looking back, English believes the swim’s greatest impact had little to do with the distance he covered or the money it raised. He keeps coming back to one word.
“Purpose,” he said.
“The reason why I say purpose is because I think you’ve developed or created a lot of purpose for a lot of people. The purpose of me swimming was to raise money to give back to all those charities, and then to build a community purpose for people to watch, support, and encourage. So, I feel like this swim created a lot of purpose.”
Over 14 days, English swam 116 kilometres across Lake of the Woods. By the time he reached the finish line, the fundraiser had surpassed $80,000. Since then, additional donations have pushed the total to about $90,000 for five organizations: SickKids, Shriners Hospitals for Children, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation Hospice, the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation, and the Jen Schott Bursary. More fundraising is planned before a final total is announced.
The fundraiser was inspired by English’s daughter Sophie, who was born prematurely, underwent heart surgery as an infant and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The family credits many of those organizations with supporting Sophie over the years, making the swim English’s way of giving back.
English set out to support organizations that had helped his family over the years. Instead, he found the community giving something back to him.
“Absolutely. And more,” he said when asked whether the response exceeded his expectations.
“There were so many things I wasn’t expecting that had nothing to do with the swim itself, the physical activity or preparing for the trip.”
Among the memories that stand out most are children donating their allowance, handwritten cards delivered to him and his daughter, Sophie, and conversations with people who said the swim inspired them to become more active or more involved in their community.
“I’ve just had people say to me, ‘Hey man, you’re inspiring me to get back at it, get out there and get on the lake and get in the water,’” he said.
“There’s a relationship between myself and the community and my friends and family. You strengthen those bonds when you do stuff like this.”
The community response may have surprised English, but the swim itself did not. Months of training with coaches from the Kenora Masters Swim Club, teammates and a physiotherapist gave him confidence before he ever stepped into the water.
“I had some really good coaches, and a really good physiotherapist, so all I had to do was follow the plan,” he said.
That preparation also changed the way he viewed difficult days on the lake. Rather than seeing wind and waves as obstacles, he welcomed the challenge.
“I like tough,” he said with a laugh.
“I find peace in the chaos of the water.”
English credits the volunteers with making the swim possible. Every day, they spent hours in support boats and kayaks, making sure he stayed fed, hydrated, and on course while offering encouragement every half hour.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the people who came down to the boat… put themselves in the kayak or in the support boat… They were probably having a tougher day than I was.”
There was one moment that put the journey into perspective. About three hours into the first day, English looked around and realized just how vast Lake of the Woods really is.
“The big water is a lot different than training in a smaller lake,” he said.
“When you’re down there, and the water is so big, and you can’t really see land, it’s really hard to understand how far I’ve gone.”
English said it wasn’t a moment of doubt. It was the first time he fully appreciated the scale of the journey ahead.
“’This is cool, and this is a big deal… I’m far from home.’”
Of all the moments from the journey, one stands above the rest for English. It came during the final mile, when Sophie slipped into the water to swim beside him.
“It was, by far, one of the greatest things I’ve ever done as a father with my daughter,” he said.
“There were 115 kilometres that I did before that… but we got to that finish line at Coney Island. That’s easily the best part of the swim. That’ll never change.”
For English, the swim was never about him. From the beginning, he said, it was inspired by Sophie and the organizations that helped their family.
Sophie, a three-time Canadian para swimming record holder, six-time provincial record holder and her high school’s Athlete of the Year, continues to work toward her dream of competing at the Paralympic Games.
“I just want to emphasize that Sophie’s the real reason why this is all taking place,” he said.
“Without her, this doesn’t happen.”
“I might have swum the kilometres, but without her, this doesn’t happen.”
With the swim behind him, English said his focus has already shifted back to supporting Sophie as she prepares for another competitive season.
“My focus now is on Sophie,” he said.
“I think less about what I’m going to be doing and more about how I’m going to support Sophie getting back into the swing of things with her para swimming.”
Now that the swim is behind him, English hopes the story encourages others to act on ideas they may have been putting off.
“If you come up with an idea, write it down and follow through with it,” he said.
“I remember getting home and writing it down and just saying, ‘Swim Lake of the Woods?’ It sat with me, then I started training for it, started saying it out loud, and we did it.”
English said he’ll continue posting updates on Chad’s Big Swim — Powered by Sophie Facebook page as fundraising continues toward a final total.
