Seven down, eighteen to go.

On Oct. 6, British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite reached mile 1,000 on his swim down the Missouri River, pulling himself out of the water in dramatic fashion under The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The aquatic journey, which began Aug. 10 in Chamberlain, South Dakota, is the seventh 1,000-mile adventure of 25, each using a different form of non-motorized transport, that Cornthwaite pledges to complete over the next decade.

The first was a 3,618-mile skateboard cruise across Australia from 2006-2007. The second was a 1,540-mile kayak paddle down the length of Australia’s Murray River in 2009. The third was a tandem bicycle trip from Vancouver to Las Vegas, followed by a stand-up paddle board down the Mississipi, a sail from Mexico to Hawaii and a bikecar peddle from Memphis to Miami. Cornthwaite is calling his most recent adventure, the Missouri River swim, the toughest adventure yet.

That might be because the brave Brit had never swam more than 300 meters before he jumped into the rushing waters in early August. Or maybe it was because of the everpresent river traffic, with Cornthwaite and his attendant paddleboarders constantly at risk of becoming barge kill. Then again, maybe it was the long days. Every day, Cornthwaite spent about 12 hours in the water.

The pain was for a good cause. This adventure raised more than $10,000 for breast cancer awareness, and Cornthwaite’s future adventures aim to raise plenty more.

Cover Photo Credit: robertstinnett – flickr.com