Detroit man plans world record swim for Parkinson's

A Detroit man is trying to set a world record in swimming while also raising money for Parkinson's research. He plans to swim the length of a massive Canadian lake in 40 hours.

Adam Ellenstein, 39, has been training for the biggest challenge of his athletic career: a non-stop, 65-mile long swim across a Canadian lake. He's swimming Okanagan Lake after years of training.

"I've been in endurance athletics for 5 or 6 years now, started out in the local community races, sprint, Olympic distance, triathlon, and worked my way up from there to iron mans and ultra-mans. This is where I've landed this year!" Ellenstein said.

What he's attempting to do has never been done before: he'll stay in the water for about 40 hours and stop only for snacks tossed from his crew in nearby boats. He's doing it for his aunt who got terrible news last fall.

"In the fall of 2015, my Aunt Susan was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and as she learned more about her diagnosis, she discovered the importance of exercise, and living well with the disease," he said.

Adam's Aunt Susan has also been training for the swim at her home in Texas. She's flying to British Columbia next week to be the first in the water, to swim alongside Adam for a portion of the attempt.

"It's gonna be really special. Susan has been training for the last five months and it seems like every week she calls me extremely excited that she's reached a new milestone. The most recent is she swam 100 laps in her local pool in Austin," Ellenstein said.

He's hashtaged the event #victoryswim105, for the 105 kilometers he's swimming, and the $105,000 he's hoping to raise for Parkinson's research. More information, and updates on his progress can be found at the Victory Swim 105 Facebook or Twitter page.

"I feel completely prepared. I have a great crew of about 20 people who are gonna be along with me. My wife Amelia has been the greatest crew chief I could ever imagine, and we have a lot of family and friends coming from all different corners of the world," he said.

He'll continue training at Cass Lake all this week and begins his big swim next Monday. If he can do the entire thing, he'll set the record for the fastest north-to-south swim.