A MUM-of-two who only learned to swim four years ago is getting ready to take on one of sport’s most gruelling challenges.

Kelly McInnes will swap life outside Gifford for the chilly waters of the Ironman Wales competition in a bid to raise money for charity.

The 37-year-old is aiming to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK by completing a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile cycle and then a 26.2-mile run.

Kelly is taking on the challenge to help as one of Eilidh’s Muscleteers.Eilidh MacFarlane was born in 2009 and her mum, Sheonad, soon noticed something different in her daughter’s development.

She had started crawling and then stopped, was not bearing weight when she was held up and when she waved at people her arm would drift down.

Then, in May 2010, she was told Eilidh had spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Since then, Eilidh’s Muscleteers have helped to raise awareness and money for the charity.

Sheonad, who lives in Giffnock, still has family in the county, with her mum, Elspeth, working as musician Fish’s PA and her dad, David, a retired dentist, involved with Haddington RFC.

Kelly said: “I’m friends with Sheonad’s brother, Alan, and his wife Lucy, who live in Gifford.

“I heard a lot about what they have been doing and some other people doing half marathons and marathons. I thought it would be great and a very personal cause to raise money for.” Kelly, who is the director of a research consultancy, has already been training hard for the event on September 13 on the Pembrokeshire coast. She has already completed the Long Course Weekend, which saw the ironman split into a triathlon over three days.

She said: “I guess I wanted to do something that was a step out of my own comfort zone. I’ve done 10 marathons and know I can do it but I wanted to do something that would be a real challenge for me.

“The Ironman is something that sometimes utterly terrifies me and other times I am incredibly excited.It’s been an incredible journey and if you are going for a big, ambitious goal, why not an Ironman?” Kelly has been working hard with East Lothian Triathlon Club to boost her swimming technique.

Training sessions at swimming pools and also at Foxlake and off the East Lothian coast have all improved her swimming.

She said: “I’m a fairly useful swimmer but I only learned to swim about four or five years ago.

“The training is going well and I’ve been training so hard and feel like I’m kind of getting there.

“I could doggy paddle before but would not put my face in the water and had no front crawl stroke of any description. I still don’t have any breaststroke or backstroke but I won’t be needing them.” Kelly has set herself a fundraising target of £1,000. To make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/ironman-kelly