While Dan Latham was swimming laps for Swim for Diabetes at Westlake Recreation Center last month, he was thinking about diabetes…and Canada. Since January, the Avon resident has been preparing to participate in three swim events this summer that will take him from Canada to the United States across Lake Erie. Latham trains 2-3 hours in the pool 3-4 days a week. The timing of Swim for Diabetes fit perfectly with his training schedule: “I used the Swim as a test of my progress towards my longer swim goals while helping those with diabetes.”
Being a part of this year’s Swim for Diabetes also raised Latham’s awareness of the disease. Before the Swim, Latham knew just one person with diabetes. Once word got out that he was raising funds for the Swim, many of his friends shared their connections to diabetes. That information helped motivate him as he swam 10,300 yards or 206 laps in three hours. “I pushed myself during the Swim by thinking about people managing a life-long condition to which there is no end,” he said. “If someone can get through life on a daily basis with diabetes then I could certainly push myself to swim as hard as I could for three hours.”
Latham has always loved the water. He participated in a swim club in high school and swam on his college swim team as a freshman. The idea to swim across Lake Erie came from Latham’s own desire for self-improvement after he had experienced some challenges in his life. He wanted to help himself become a stronger person, both physically and emotionally. A part of this was his goal to test his physical fitness as well as his ability to commit to a long-term, work-intense goal.
This summer Latham plans to swim in three different events: a 12-mile swim from Crystal Beach, Ontario to Sturgeon Point, New York; a 24-mile swim from Long Point, Ontario to Freeport Beach, Pennsylvania; and a 33-mile swim from Point Pelee, Ontario to Sandusky.
When he’s not in the pool, Latham works as a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services, Inc. Besides maintaining his health and fitness, he enjoys baseball and fishing.
Thank you, Dan Latham, for including Swim for Diabetes in your fitness goals and for raising funds and awareness of diabetes in northeast Ohio.
Dan Latham and his son DJ
at Westlake Recreation Center