Huge effort: Luke Barlow took to the river and the road to raise funds for Dolly’s Dream.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
“Swimming in my runners and running in my swimmers” is how Luke Barlow described his recent fundraising event for Dolly’s Dream which entailed a 1.5km run upstream and 1km Murray River swim downstream, 10 times, culminating in a 15km run and 10km swim in just over four hours and 13 minutes.
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Friday, May 10 was Do it for Dolly Day — a day to help raise awareness around youth suicide, bullying and anxiety.
Luke has been supporting the charity for a few years now and was initially inspired after the loss of a young person from bullying in his community.
“Dolly’s Dream is a great organisation to support and a great one for our kids to get support because it is the next generation that really need our care,” he said.
As an ironman (4km swim, 180km bike, 42km run in one day) and ultraman (10km swim and 140km ride, 281km ride and 84.3km run over three days) finisher, Luke is no stranger to tackling physical feats many of us might find a little scary.
A fraction of the big distances he has completed previously, this event was still challenging enough in its own right, made even more so by the cool and rainy conditions.
Swimming support: Troy Bauerle (left) and David Ferris (right) jumped into help Luke Barlow on the swim leg.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
“After two laps I was really starting to doubt my assignment, but Shane Kervin turned up to run a few laps with me before he had to head off to work, which gave me a huge lift and something to look forward to once I got out of the river,” Luke said.
Plugging away it and after seven laps, Luke said the cold was really starting to kick in and the finish line looked a long way away.
It was then triathlete Troy Bauerle jumped in to offer Luke some swimming support for the last three laps.
Freestyle: Chilly water greeted Luke Barlow as he raised funds for Dolly’s Dream.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Luke is no stranger to swimming in the Murray when most of us are rugged up in our winter gear, but he has always remained cautious.
“The water in the river has provided so many great swims over the years, but it could spell disaster in the cold, so swimming alongside mates who support my crazy aspirations gave me the boost to finish I really needed,” he said.
Luke and Troy were then joined by another swimmer David Ferris.
“Knowing there were other people in the water swimming up to meet me really helped to just get the job done,” Luke said.
Tackling the 14℃ water temperatures, with nothing more than a tri suit on, is testament to Luke’s mental capacity and his ability to push everything aside for a good cause.
He set out with a target to raise around $2200 and donations can still be made at dollysdream.org.au
