Ana has never swum in open water before.

Gordon is a grandad inspiring his teenage grandsons to get active.

Ferne is a TV star, more used to making a splash on daytime telly than in the freezing cold waters of a Scottish loch.

All three have very different reasons for braving the chilly depths of Loch Lomond this weekend for the Great Scottish Swim.

But they are united by one thing – the desire to make a difference to people by supporting a host of good causes close to their hearts.

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“It’s good to think you can make a difference,” sums up Ana, a PHD student who lives in the west end.

“Although I had never tried open water swimming before until my training session this weekend – and NOW I’m scared…”

More than 2400 swimmers are expected to take part over the two-day event.

Ana, 26, is taking part to raise money for Arthritis Research UK.

She was diagnosed with scoliosis, or curvature of the spine – when she was 14 and she can relate to many of the problems experienced by arthritis sufferers.

“I am lucky – I don’t have pain 90 per cent of the time, but when I do, it affects every area of my life,” she explains.

“I was young when I was diagnosed, and had to wear a plastic brace for three years. It wasn’t great, for a teenage girl but I tried to do everything my friends were doing.”

Ana adds: “The pain I get now comes when I am stressed or suffer inflammation in my back. Taking up swimming really helped me.”

Ever since her diagnosis, Ana has swum as much as she can, usually up to three times a week.

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She laughs: “Although swimming in open water is going to be very different to the kind of swimming I’m used to doing.

“I wanted to push myself and raise money for the charity – that’s my motivation to keep going.”

Ana moved to Glasgow from her native Portugal around three years ago, to complete her honours degree in biosciences at the University of the West of Scotland.

She is now doing her PhD on osteoarthritis at the same institution and hopes to continue her research into the disease and its effects on young and old people once her studies are complete in September.

“Having scoliosis definitely inspired me to take this route into study and research and I’m hoping to raise as much as I can for Arthritis Research UK,” she says, adding with a grin: “I hope my friends are coming along to cheer me on at the weekend – it will be a great day.”

Gordon Gray, 56, is heading up a family team of three generations, all fundraising for local cancer charities, including the Beatson.

He’ll be swimming alongside his son David, 33 and grandsons Dylan, 15, and Darren Connell, 13.

“It’s good for the boys to see they can make a difference, do some good and have some fun at the same time,” says Gordon, who is from Pollok.

“I encouraged my grandsons to get involved in swimming from a young age and so we decided to swim together and try to raise money for charity along the way.

“We will be swimming for the Beatson Cancer Charity as a ‘thank you' for the treatment and support they provided to my mother prior to her death a few years ago.”

David, who lives in Cumbernauld, is also fundraising for a local charity set up in support of a young girl who survived cancer.

“We have all done the event before so we know how much fun it is,” says Gordon. “It is a big challenge, especially because the water is so cold – that’s the hardest bit, having to get into that ‘take-the-breath-away’ cold.

“But it’s an amazing event.”

Telly star Ferne McCann, who got her big break on The Only Way Is Essex and who is now a presenter on ITV’s This Morning, is gearing up to take the plunge in Loch Lomond on Saturday.

The presenter is a Great Swim ambassador, whose first open water swimming event was last month’s Great Manchester Swim.

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“I was really apprehensive,” she admits. “But I absolutely loved it. Everyone should give it a go, it’s an amazing experience.

“The Great Swim events have a brilliant atmosphere and really are for everyone, no matter what your level of fitness.”

The Great Scottish Swim encompasses a range of distances, from half a mile to the brand new 10k, all in the spectacular surroundings of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

If you are feeling inspired, you can still enter the event – visit www.greatrun.org/great-swim/great-scottish-swim for more information.