Swimming with a purpose, three area women are taking the plunge into the Chatfield Reservoir Aug. 21.

Doing laps for cancer research, Ann Brown, Diane Browning and Pati Turner are the Woodland Park team that exerts energy for a greater good.

The team swims for the Denver Region and are part of the 24-team national Swim Across America which is raising money to fund cancer research. “We are partnering with Children’s Hospital Colorado to raise money for upcoming specific clinical trials,” Brown said. “All local events partner with a local hospital.”

The organization, Swim Across America, also supports cancer patients who can’t afford treatment.

The women practice at the Woodland Aquatic Center where the lanes are marked. But swimming in the reservoir presents a guessing game about location. “In the reservoir the water is cloudy, and you can’t see the bottom,” Brown said. “So, you have to change your strokes and look forward to see which direction you’re going.”

Turner has her own method. “I do a lot of backstrokes to find out where I am,” she said.

Along with signing up, entrants agree to raise a minimum of $500. The women have been selected as the feature charity of the month by Mountain View United Methodist Church. “We’d like to have business sponsors,” said Brown, who has pledged to swim 2 miles while her partners agreed to swim a half mile.

To support the three, online donations to the swimmers can be made through www.swimacrossamerica.org/denver and then click on Team Woodland Park from the “top teams” box in the lower right corner.