ALAN Metcalf was 62 when he set a world record by paddling a surf rescue board from Sydney to Newcastle for charity.
More than a decade later, he is ready to do it all again - this time in the name of children's brain cancer via Hunter charity RUN DIPG.
"I did the first one for cystic fibrosis," the Stockton resident, who will turn 74 next month, said.
"I was always going to do another paddle but I had a medical procedure that didn't go very well, and I missed two-to-three years because of pain, and a bit of depression chucked in between. So... I struggled a bit for a while.
"After that operation I lost all confidence on the board. I was frightened to go out in the surf. I couldn't even sit on the surfboard - I had no balance. I couldn't even go on my knees, I'd just fall off. It was a fairly depressing time."
But Mr Metcalf said he stuck at it, building up his strength again, bit by bit.
On Saturday, from 8am, he hopes to paddle at least 10 kilometres a day from Bronte, in Sydney, to Newcastle - about 140 kilometres.
He plans to rest and recuperate at the surf clubs along the coast in between.
But if the predicted big surf and east coast low eventuates, he has a "plan B" to keep him and his supporters safe.
He said he would stick to the harbours and lakes along the way, if necessary.
"If I don't do it now I'm never going to do it, because my body is starting to slow down," he said.
"I'll be 74 in a month's time.
"And I haven't trained all this time not to do it.
"If the seas are too big for the support boat, I know a couple of places in Sydney Harbour - and I'll do 15-20 kilometres in there. The next day we'll go to Narrabeen and if the surf is still up, I'll do the same distance in Narrabeen lake, and we'll continue on to Tuggerah Lake and end up at Lake Macquarie, if we have to. So I'll make sure I get the 140 kilometres out, no matter what."
Mr Metcalf said he had considered using the paddle to raise money for mental health, and spinal research.
"But then I read the story about the young girl of Dun and the young girl from New Zealand who died of DIPG," he said. "I've suffered a lot of pain over my life, but to have someone say your child has a disease and it's fatal and there's no cure... I just couldn't imagine the pain you would go through.
"It would be devastating. So I thought I'd give it a crack to raise money for them and see how I go. I've always been a distance athlete... I'm used to a long hard slog. I'm no elite athlete, but I enjoy what I do and I like putting something back into the community."
Support his efforts via rundipg-org.grassrootz.com/paddle-dipg-alan-metcalf.
