Father and son dive into Swimathon in memory of sister

Architect Neil Pennell and his son Joseph (15) will make a splash at Bridgnorth Leisure Centre this March, swimming 66 lengths to raise money for Cancer Research UK, the end of life charity Marie Curie and Swimathon Foundation.

The challenge is just one of a series of events that Neil (48) will be doing in memory of his sister Kay, who died of breast cancer aged just 43 in May 2020. Neil and Joseph will also be swimming in honour of Joseph’s grandmothers Maureen and Sue who both died of cancer.

Swimathon – the world’s biggest annual fundraising swim - takes place from 28-30 March at pools and venues across Shropshire, including Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury, Market Drayton, Oswestry and Wem.

By sharing their story, Neil and Joseph, who attends HLC School in Telford, hope to inspire people to get off the starting blocks and support the causes close to their hearts.

Neil, who runs Penn Architectural Ltd in Telford, said: “Cancer doesn’t just impact one person’s life, it affects entire families. That’s why Joseph and I want to do all we can to support research into new and better treatments as well as help those facing the most difficult period of their lives.”

Neil’s sister Kay Pennell was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer aged 39 in 2017 - four months after giving birth to her second baby. She had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy but, three and a half years later, she discovered the cancer was back and had spread.

Neil and his wife Simone set up The Kit Foundation to raise funds for alternative treatment in Spain but the therapy was unsuccessful. Now they want to help support other families as well as raise funds for research into cancer.

“Swimming is a great way to get fit, clear your head and achieve something worthwhile,” added Neil, who is also planning to tackle a triathlon later this year. “It’s been great training with Joseph and we’re up to 60 lengths now. It really doesn’t matter if you’re not the fittest or the fastest. We hope swimmers, young and old, grab their caps and costumes to help thousands of people across the UK.”

Neil stressed that you don’t need to be the next Adam Peaty to take part. There are a variety of individual challenges to choose from for people of all ages and abilities - from 400m up to a Triple 5k – or teams of 2-5 people can take part in a 1.5k or 5k relay.   
 
Any swimmers who can’t make one of the organised sessions can sign up to MySwimathon, and choose a distance, time and venue that suits them to complete their swim between 21 March – 21 April.

Since Swimathon started in 1986, more than 750,000 swimmers have taken part and raised over £55 million for a variety of nominated charities.   

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Shropshire, Paula Young, said: “Thanks to the generosity and commitment of supporters like Neil and Joseph, our scientists have played a role in around half of the world’s essential cancer drugs, led the development of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and paved the way for targeted treatments. But, with nearly one in two people diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime,* we must go further and faster.

“There are lots of great benefits to taking part in Swimathon, not least the chance to enjoy the water while supporting great causes. That’s why we’re urging swimmers to take the plunge, raise money and help us to keep making new discoveries and breakthroughs.”

National Events Manager for Marie Curie, Hannah Grant, said:“Swimathon is a fun and family friendly way for people to take on a new challenge and raise money for a good cause. Every five minutes, someone in the UK dies without the care they need. No matter what your ability, just by heading down to your local pool this March you can raise money to help Marie Curie continue to bring expert palliative and end of life care to more people, whatever their illness.”

Five or 10 week training plans are available for all challenges on the Swimathon website - swimathon.org.