8/22 Update: Per call from Mark Urban---the waves were too high for his swim so it has been delayed until next week. We will keep you updated.

Editor's note - When we learn for sure when and where Nial Funchion will begin his Lake Michigan swim, we'll post it here.

Not only does Nial Funchion have an English Channel swim to his credit, he's done it twice. When the 37-year-old attempts to swim 27 miles from Evanston, IL, to Michigan City, Ind., this weekend, he won't just try to beat the current time record, he'll try to break it in half. The current record is about 24 hours. An experienced swimmer and Chicago policeman, Funchion hopes to complete the swim in 12 or 13 hours. He has good reason to believe it's possible.

The Lake Michigan crossing, tentatively scheduled for Sunday-Monday, Aug. 24-25, is about a mile longer than his English Channel swim, which he completed in just over 12 hours. When he first toyed with the idea of swimming the English Channel he didn't even know where it was; he just knew it would be a challenge. Funchion endured sea sickness and hypothermia to complete the swim and was in such an exhausted state at the end that he had to ask if he finished.

The discipline and dedication required to train for long-distance swims has caused Funchion to give up some of his less healthy habits, like drinking, and focus on more important things.

"Swimming is a way for me to get at life lessons and a way to nurture a deep champion's attitude," Funchion said. "This swim is a barometer of how much I've changed."

Funchion tires of people asking him why he does long-distance, open-water swims. "It is a test of character," he said. "You are a human being on earth. Don't you want to see what you are all about? I was depressed by how many people didn't get it."

One man who does get it is Mark Urban of Palos Heights, Ill., who will attempt a nine-mile swim from Michigan City, IN to New Buffalo, MI on Friday, Aug. 22. Urban is a masters swimmer who enjoys the chance to get out of the pool, but Urban admits that open-water swimming can be scary.

"It is out of my comfort zone," Urban said. "I can only assume I will make it. The weather could turn bad or the current might be too strong. There is always something that is beyond your control."

The nine-mile swim will be the longest Urban has ever attempted. He swam six miles at Swim Across America, raising more than $3,000 for cancer research. Urban has been swimming between three and five miles a day and mixes sprint swims in with his long-distance training.

Both Urban and Funchion know the importance of having a team of strong supporters willing to trail the swimmer and provide support and necessities. Urban will be followed by a crew of five people, including his friend John Glikis who volunteered his boat Final Answer for the event. One supporter who will have to root from land is Urban's wife, who is expecting the couple's first child in October.

Supporters and friends of Funchion will take turns kayaking or swimming with him at times to keep him motivated. "You deteriorate fast after a certain point," Function said. "A lot of things you take for granted you can't do at the end. When you finish, there is no one there, no one to give you recognition. It's a different type of journey, and five times harder than running a marathon."

For more information on solo open-water swimming, visit www.soloswims.com and www.oceanswims.com