Men Row Utah Lake to Raise Money for MS

Men Row Utah Lake to Raise Money for MS


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Ashley Hayes Reporting As with most holidays, many Americans are celebrating their day off today by sleeping in, cooking out and spending time with family. But two men are working harder than they ever have, and all for a good cause.

On Utah Lake, swarming motor boats, jet skis, wake boarders, and fisherman leave little doubt it could be any other day than the Fourth of July. But on this, a boater's holiday, rest and relaxation couldn't be farther from James Bekker's and Bob Dietch's minds.

"We're rowing for 26,000 Utah people."

The two men are rowing 110 miles, the perimeter of the lake to raise money for Utahns diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

This has become a personal crusade for Bob Dietch. What would take him a couple of hours to cross the lake in a motor boat is going to take several days rowing.

But for him it means his wife.

Bob Dietch: "It hurts. It hurts every day. So today is my day to hurt."

Bettina Dietch, Suffers from MS: "I've been doing fine up until a year ago."

And because she doesn't have the strength to power this boat, each stroke, each drip of sweat is devoted to her cause.

Bob Dietch: "When they go to do what it is a normal person might do, their outcome is going to be different, less effective, less efficient. So you watch a person struggle with daily life activities."

So this two man team-- one with already blistered hands, the other a brand new father-- spend their holiday away from their families.

Tara Bekker, Husband is Rowing Utah Lake: "I just hope they don't get too tired after the first day."

"I'm confident we'll do it."

Averaging four miles an hour, stroke by stroke, they make their way slowly around Utah Lake. Their goal is to make it through in three days and help raise 50-thousand dollars for the Utah MS Society, so maybe one day those with the disease will have the freedom from their illness to do activities like these.

If you are interested in finding out more about Oar Support -- the organization through which Dietch raises money for MS, check the link above.

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