Aqua man: Columbia Falls man to 'jog' across Hungry Horse Reservoir

Next month, Mike Turner plans on jogging the length of the Hungry Horse Reservoir.

But he won’t don sneakers. He’ll put on his wetsuit and his flipper gloves, and his jogging will be completely in the water. It’s called aqua jogging.

Turner started aqua jogging in 1991 after a bad fall as part of therapy for his injuries. He said he was back to work in six months. Then he had a car wreck a few years later, and aqua jogging got him back on the road to recovery again.

“Now I do it for fun,” he said.

Turner is a lifetime Columbia Falls resident, graduating from Columbia Falls High School in 1966. He did a stint in the Navy, came home and has been there ever since.

Aqua jogging is accomplished by a special buoyant belt that keeps the jogger upright in the water. Turner paddles with his hands and jogs with his legs. The water is typically frigid, so he wears a wetsuit.

He said he recently got a calling from God to aqua jog the length of the reservoir.

“Not the whole shoreline,” he said. “I’m going to start where the river dumps in and end my jog in Abbot Bay.”

He figures it will take 10 to 14 days total, jogging six hours a day.

“I don’t think it’s much more than 30-35 miles going the straight line I’m going to go, but still, it’s a daunting task for an old fart like me,” he said with a smile.

Turner will turn 77 by the time he finishes.

He’s been training in Lion Lake in Hungry Horse and indoor pools.

He said he doesn’t go very fast. It takes him about an hour and 46 minutes to go a mile.

He’s hoping he gets a little current behind him, which will help push him toward the dam.

Turner has turned the tourney into a fundraiser for some church projects, too.

He’s a member of the Fellowship Alliance Church in Columbia Falls.

He wants to raise some funds toward a better pickup truck at the church’s Dickey Lake Bible Camp. The truck is on its last legs, he noted. Any additional funds will go toward the church’s mission to help the Tarahumara people in Mexico.

A GoFundMe page has been set up at gofund.me/42bf9f80

Turner recommends aqua jogging for anyone looking to rehab from an injury, particularly a back injury.

“If you have a back injury, disk problems … especially hips. You get in the water, zero impact, you have that resistance … you can heal up,” he said. “Aqua jogger is the cheapest gym equipment you can get. They’re about $65, $70.”

It also gives one a unique view of the water, since just your shoulders up are actually out of the water.

Turner said people are welcome to join him on the jog. They can learn more at the Fellowship Alliance Church website.