Katie Spotz , 21, of Mentor, Ohio, is nearing the end of an amazing feat. She expects that by Wednesday morning she will become the first person to swim the 325-mile length of the Allegheny River.

Spotz and James Hendershott, 20, of Covington, Ga., began the trek on July 25 in Raymond at the source of the Allegheny. The walked 16 miles along the water to Coudersport, where the water was deep enough to swim Hendershott follows along in a kayak as Katie swims.

She has been averaging about 10 to 15 miles a day, with her best distance being 22 miles in a day. Spotz wears a wetsuit, flippers on her feet and hands, and a mask and snorkel. Occassionally she encounters locks and damns, where she has to get out of the water and walk to the lower level before resuming her swim.

In the kayak, Hendershott also carries their food and camping gear.

Spotz said that her swim of the Allegheny is a part of training for another amazing feat she hopes to accomplish: rowing a boat solo across the Atlantic in December. If she is successful, she'd be the first American to row the ocean from mainland Africa to mainland South America, and would also become the youngest person to do so.

She has been raising money from the river swim, which will go to Blue Planet Run Foundation, which provides clean drinking water for people in Asia, Africa, and other areas of the world.

Spotz's river swim will end at Point State Park, where the Allegheny joins the Monogahela River to form the Ohio River.