Today is Karah’s second day to swim in the English Channel. The weather here is terrible. It has rained the entire day, but, of course, rain doesn’t bother swimmers. Karah said she was warmer in the water than on land. I, however, was freezing as I walked along the shoreline watching her swim.

Karah is excited about her swim. She’s not upset that she’s having to wait until Saturday because her cold (it’s getting better) and her spider bite (it’s gross) are slowing her down a bit. She’s hoping the extra time will allow her to heal.

She got her spider bite in San Francisco the night prior to coming to Chattanooga a week ago. We called our doctor in Chattanooga to tell him of all her symptoms, and he agreed witht the British doctor’s diagnosis — antibiotics and proper dressing. The bite, which my husband is convinced is by a brown recluse, scares the heck out of me (you can see a photo of the bite, as awful as it is, on Karah’s Web site, www.karahnazor.com). However, the British doctor and our doctor in Chattanooga, Barry Dalton, assured us it will be OK.

Karah Nazor

Karah has been preparing for the Channel swim for more than a year. The 21-mile route, which can turn into 40 because of tides, is a challenge she’s ready for. What shocks swimmers the most when they attempt the Channel is the temperature of the water and the strong current. Karah has been swimming in the San Francisco Bay for the last three years and the conditions there are very similar to the Channel. In fact, swimmers from all over the world come to San Francisco to train for the Channel swim.

It’s a challenge nonetheless. Karah’s Channel/pilot coach, Eric Hartley, said more people have climbed Mount Everest than have accomplished the swim across the channel. It’s the ultimate goal for a serious swimmer.

As a mom, it’s very emotional to me to see my daughter swim the channel. My mind keeps flashing back to when she was seven years old and jumped into the East Ridge Youth Foundation pool for her first official swim team practice. She was doing backstroke and went sideways and hit the wall. Five weeks later she broke the pool record for eight and under backstroke. Now, 23 years later, I’m watching my girl swim across the Channel. I couldn’t be more proud.

Now, our fingers are crossed for a Saturday swim. Bad weather could again postpone it. But we’re thinking positive. English Channel here we come.

(Karen Nazor Hill is a features department writer for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Karah Nazor, a former Chattanoogan who is a post-doctorate scholar at the University of California San Francisco, is planning to swim the English Channel. She is a longtime swimming enthusiast who swam with the East Ridge Youth Foundation, Greater Chattanooga Aquatic Club, Scenic City Aquatic Club, University of Miami and James Madison University. She won the first 3.5-mile Swim Around the Rock event around Alcatraz in San Francisco.)

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