Join Doug McConnell of Barrington, the 48th person over the age of 50 to successfully swim the English Channel, when he speaks about his journey, entitled “A Long Swim.”
Doug prepared to swim the English Channel for two years and on August 22nd, he completed this 30 mile adventure in 14 hours, 18 minutes. He combined his training efforts with an awareness and fundraising campaign for the Les Turner ALS Foundation. Doug swam the Channel in memory of his father who passed away from ALS.
His speech will motivate the community to set goals, dream big and succeed. To date, Doug has raised more than $155,000 for ALS research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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He will discuss what was involved in executing “A Long Swim” and how he was able to make it a success. A Q&A session will follow his presentation.
Coincidentally, on the same day Doug swam the English Channel, Dr. Teepu Siddique and his team of researchers at Northwestern announced they identified a common cause of all forms of ALS. This historic research breakthrough could lead to the potential development of treatments for ALS.
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Dr. Siddique as well as Dr. P. Hande Ozdinler, lead researcher at the Les Turner ALS Research Laboratory II, will be on hand to talk with guests about ALS research.
Registration to Doug’s presentation is free, though donations to “A Long Swim,” which benefits the Les Turner ALS Foundation, are welcome.
