Berny Blows 200 Length Charity Challenge Out Of The Water

Active Bolton Farnworth member Berny Marsden, completed a remarkable 200 lengths of Farnworth swimming pool on Friday, raising over £1,000 for North West Air Ambulance.

Berny currently swims at Farnworth 5 times a week.

Discussing his love for swimming, he explained:

“I swim 70 to 100 lengths freestyle every morning. I like the pool and the staff and the other swimmers are very friendly. I’m 75 years old and swimming keeps me fit, mentally and physically. I only learned to swim front crawl when I was about 60, which shows anyone, no matter what age can learn to swim to keep fit.”

Away from the pool, Berny is also a keen cyclist and walker and has a passion for photography, particularly in the Lake District. No stranger to charitable challenges, he played a key part in supporting a 100-mile sponsored cycle in 2020, which raised around £7,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Berny’s wife Andrea was on hand to count down the lengths at poolside. The pair share a mutual affection for the North West Air Ambulance and hope the funds raised can contribute to saving more lives in the future.

On completing the challenge, Berny said:

“I am very grateful to the Farnworth Leisure Centre staff and the regular swimmers for their kind help, encouragement and donations.”

We congratulate Berny on an amazing achievement.