On 17 October 2019 our Thrive Advice super star Dianne Telford completed a 10km marathon swim in Fiji. The swim was to raise funds and awareness for CanToo Foundation, which is an independent health promotion charity committed to funding cancer research.

As the day drew closer so did the dark clouds across Fiji’s picturesque skies. The day brought many challenges not just an enduring a 10km ocean swim. The sea conditions were rough, which puts pressure on any swimmer’s body. Along with being thrown about in the ocean, she was stung by sea lice. But an ocean swim just is not complete without a sting from a jellyfish. Ouch! However, Dianne was fortunate enough to not come across any sharks (one teammate had sharks circling her and had to be pulled from the swim). Dianne powered on through stings and currents. The initial swim was marked for 10kms, but of course, due to the rough conditions the buoy had drifted, and it ended up being a massive 13km ocean swim.

In true CanToo spirit, Dianne and other teammates completed a 5km ocean swim 2 days later. Is she mad? No, just kind and passionate. She joined in the 5km swim to support her teammate who had to pull out from the 10km swim due to being circled from sharks. This day the weather was perfect, the ocean was calm, and the marine life was gentle.

Dianne personally raised over $2700 of a $2500 goal. CanToo aimed for a $28 000 fundraising goal but smashed it out of the water with a whopping $64 000 raised. Donations can still be made via Dianne’s profile.

What’s next for Dianne?

For November she has signed up for Movember raising awareness and funds for mental health and we have just been informed she is embarking on another 10km ocean swim in December! What a superstar!!!