This Women’s History Month, we invite you to meet Hannah Lawrance - a 28-year old marketing manager from Perth and all-around incredible human being. We are fortunate to count her as one of our dedicated fundraisers for Cure Cancer. Early this year, she committed to doing the Rotto Swim to fundraise for cancer research in honour of her dad. She even promised to do a shoey should she reach her goal.
As it turns out, she reached more than thrice her goal just before the swim.
The South32 Rottnest Channel Swim is the largest open swim in the world. It takes real dedication to attempt this swim as there are many factors to consider in traversing the 19.7km from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island. Fitness level, weather conditions, and wildlife in the open sea are just a few of them. We sat down with Hannah prior to the Rotto Swim to find out what motivates her and how she is preparing for the challenge.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO THIS FOR YOUR DAD?
Every single Christmas from when I was born until I was about 17 was spent at Rottnest Island. My memories of playing in the sand, riding bikes, making friends, eating the iconic bakery jam doughnuts, going on adventures, and spending time with family were some of the happiest of my childhood.
It was at Rottnest where my dad first got the call about the cancer. And it was the destination where we scattered his ashes. Rottnest is my dad's favourite place on earth. And it's mine too. I have always wanted to do the swim - it's one of those bucket list accomplishments. My dad used to help skipper it back in the day, so it is an event that has been on my mind for years. Following his footsteps (or boat-steps), to his favourite island, in the most outrageous way, while fundraising for cancer research would be the ultimate tribute to my hero.
This is why. My hero. Nothing on earth can prepare you for four years of surgeries, hours of chemotherapy, radiation sickness, picking them up off the floor when they’ve had a fall and they’re too weak to get back up, showering them, feeding them. Constantly having your phone on loud just in case there’s bad news. Dreading the phone call that says “It’s back,” and then the final phone call that says “You need to come home, this is it.”
Watching a parent deteriorate in front of your eyes because of cancer is something no one should have to endure. And one day, we won’t have to.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR TEAM ZOAHS ARC? IS THE SOUTH32 ROTTNEST CHANNEL SWIM SOMETHING YOU’VE ATTEMPTED BEFORE?
My team is made up of three of my best friends. None of us really had swimming experience before training for the swim. But we tried our luck, got in, and have been swimming (nearly) every day since! We're complete newbies - but all very excited!
HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR THIS SWIM?
The Rotto Swim website has some awesome training advice! But we believe you cannot be too prepared for the swim. We met with a swim coach to help us with our technique, we joined a Masters swim team, we went to nutrition seminars, we competed in open water swims, we practised with paddlers and we built up to training 10-15km per week. We worked really hard to get here and with one week away we are very excited and equally nervous.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES BECAUSE OF CANCER?
My dad was sick for four years before we got the final call that said it was time to say goodbye. For those four years, my Mum and I were the primary carers. We were a team through all the ups and all the downs, all the surgeries, chemo treatments, radiation sessions, doctors appointments, everything. When you watch someone you love deteriorate, it changes you. Some days you feel angry, some days you feel sad, and some days you just do what you need to do to survive. Whatever you feel is valid. You're allowed to feel the pain and the sadness that comes with looking after a sick family member.
But however you handle it, make sure you aren't going to live with regrets. You don't want to look back and wish you had handled it differently, or wish you had said the thing you've always wanted to say. Before he passed, I asked my dad to tell me he was proud of me. I needed to know he was proud of me for all the times I knew he wouldn't be able to say it. And that was the last thing he ever said.
There had been weeks of bad weather leading up to the Rotto Swim, and so we caught up with Hannah after the event to find out how it went
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROTTO SWIM EXPERIENCE? AND DID YOU END UP DOING THE SHOEYS?
What a day! The Rotto Swim was one of the most challenging yet exciting things I have ever done - the training, the sacrifices, the logistics, the kms... From the moment you jump on the boat, to finding your paddler at The Leeuwin, to battling the huge waves and fighting the weather, you are equally humbled, thrilled and grateful. We started off doing 7-minute intervals, then at halfway we changed it to 5-minute intervals, then we changed it to 3-minute intervals because we were wasting a lot of energy just fighting the swell. Unfortunately the weather gods were not on our side and due to the 1.5m swell, the event was partially cancelled and we got pulled out at 2pm at the 14km mark.
We gave it our all, we would have kept fighting the last 5km if we were given the chance. On the island we were greeted by so many friends and family who were so so proud of us, and I am so thankful for their support. My mum was patiently waiting for me, and as soon as I saw her I just burst into tears. It was a mix of feeling disappointed that we couldn't finish, and also her being a huge reason for my 'why', being it us two who looked after my dad for those years.
You best believe I ended the day with not one, but TWO shoeys out of Birkenstocks. Turns out it foamed up a lot and most of it ended on my face!
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR IT NEXT YEAR?
ZOAHS ARC has a guaranteed spot in 2023 due to the partial cancellation, so training starts now! We are very grateful to be given the experience to do it again and cross the finish line. When you do something that is so out of your comfort zone, and you work hard as a team - not only with the swimmers but our amazing support crew - it brings you closer together. You have this bond because you all had this same goal and all worked so hard to try and achieve it. We've already had a team meeting and everyone is on board to smash 2023. See you on the other side!
Hannah’s story of love, courage, and dedication is inspiring to all of us. If, like Hannah, you are interested in challenging yourself and raising funds for valuable cancer research that could change lives, there are plenty of ways to go about it. You can choose to do a similar athletic feat, or even just something as simple as hosting a picnic. We have a number of ideas you can check out in our A-Z list for fundraising.
