Sometime between Sept. 28 and Oct. 3, if all goes according to plan, John Donlon of Scituate will leave Dover, England, for the rocky coast of France. He won’t travel by plane or boat; the only energy pushing him across the English Channel will be his own.
When he touches the French shore, he will have completed what some consider one of the most difficult and high-profile feats in open-water swimming. That’s if a slew of challenges — cold water temperatures, 12 to 16 hours of strenuous motion, possible jellyfish stings — don’t stop him.
Until then, the 45-year-old is training as much as work and three young children allow. Three or four days a week, he gets up before sunrise and heads to Scituate Racquet & Fitness to take advantage of its pool’s open lanes.
“They open at 5,’’ said Donlon, a research director for a business consulting firm in Waltham, “so I’m there waiting for the guy to unlock the door.’’
Weekends are for swimming in the ocean, where the temperature is similar to the English Channel’s. Donlon labors in shallow water for hours at a time within an arc along the shore, stretching out from Scituate’s Peggotty Beach. To venture into deeper water, he said, would be to risk an encounter with a shark.
It won’t be his first feat of endurance. He has competed in several Ironman Triathlons and has run the Boston Marathon more than 10 times. He’s also the organizer of an annual half-marathon on the South Shore called the 3 Beach Minimum, occurring this year on Oct. 15.
Donlon has long been aware of others swimming the channel, but the idea that he should do it didn’t come overnight, or from a particular conversation or moment that he can pinpoint. “It’s like you’ve got this little kernel of an idea kicking around in the back of your head,’’ he said. Around New Year’s in 2015, he decided to go for it.
Donlon said he’s motivated by the desire to overcome the biggest physical and mental challenge he has ever faced and to prove to his children that they can do anything they’re willing to work for.
He will also use the swim to raise money for the American Liver Foundation, which funds research to combat liver disease. For years, he has raised money for the nonprofit through the Boston Marathon, and he now sits on the New England chapter’s board of directors. A woman with whom he once went on a lunch date suggested the foundation’s team as a worthy one to run for, but he also has a personal connection: His father had a chronic form of liver disease.
Crossing the English Channel has become a top challenge for those who swim in open water — lakes, rivers, oceans — because of the endurance it requires and the potential complications. The water is cold, and home to jellyfish. The channel is a busy shipping lane as well, and swimmers have to avoid vessels of various sizes. Donlon and others consider it part of the “Triple Crown’’ of open-water swimming, along with the 20.2 miles across the Catalina Channel off the coast of Southern California and the 28.5
The logistics of swimming the English Channel aren’t simple, either. Donlon had to join a sponsoring organization and arrange for a boat pilot to guide him along.
He doesn’t yet know which day he’ll make the journey. Swimmers set aside one week; the boat pilot notifies them 12 to 24 hours in advance if the weather looks safe enough for crossing.
The boat will carry an official observer to certify that Donlon follows the rules and completes the swim, along with two companions of Donlon’s choosing: his friend John Perantoni and his father-in-law, Nick Psillos.
The two will be tasked with giving the swimmer whatever he needs — food, water, or encouragement. Since touching the boat would disqualify him, he suspects he and his team will create a rig to allow the men to hand him items. They’ll also take pictures and make videos to send to Donlon’s friends and family back home, and they may hold up a whiteboard so Donlon can see messages sent his way.
Though he sees the swim as a daunting challenge, Donlon is confident.
“I think I’m in a pretty good spot,’’ he said, “where I have a healthy respect for the training I still have to do, and I’m nervous enough about getting that done and being prepared. But I feel like I can do it. I feel like I’m on track to do it, so it’s exciting.’’
Psillos is even more confident. “I know he’ll succeed,’’ he said, “because that’s the way John is.’’
Jacob Carozza can be reached at jacob.carozza@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jacobcarozza.
