Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Running the river


In my days as a newspaper reporter and editor, I wrote a lot of stories about people who planned to do great things, such as crawl on their hands and knees around a track for 24 hours straight, all in the name of raising awareness about something important. Too many of those folks never made it. Thus, it bred a certain skepticism in me whenever I hear of someone attempting a similar feat.

So, here's a tip of the hat to Mimi Hughes. She's the woman who said she would swim the entire length of the Ohio River in an attempt to raise funds and awareness for women's education programs. She began her swim in Pittsburgh on May 22. So far, she has completed 800 miles of her  981-mile journey. She's gotten a lot farther than most of us would. If you want more information on her daily progress, check it out here.

Now a family from New Richmond, Ohio, says it will ski the entire length of the Ohio, according to this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The trip is a fundraising even for Disabled American Veterans.

With the Fourth of July behind us, time is running out for run-of-the-river goals such as this. Who knows what we'll see next year if Hughes and the others accomplish their goals.