Meg Skidmore joins Navy SEALs and friends Thursday in the Peak to Peaks Challenge to raise money and awareness for Camp Sunshine. The participants started the day with a 7.6-mile run down the auto road at Mount Washington, then biked 84.4 miles to East End Beach in Portland before entering the harbor for a 2.4-mile swim to Peaks Island. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

It was a little unconventional for a triathlon, but for a good cause.

Two Navy SEALS and four others with military ties began their day atop Mount Washington at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Then, the five men and one woman ran 7.6 miles down the auto road, biked 84.4 miles to East End Beach in Portland and swam 2.4 miles to Peaks Island. It only took 12 hours.

It was the latest of nine fundraisers over eight years for Camp Sunshine, a camp in Casco for children with life-threatening illnesses. Each event has featured Navy SEALS swimming long distances, often combined with long-distance running and biking.

This year’s fundraising goal was $50,000, and the total raised was quickly closing in on that amount as the participants were still drying off and warming up at about 5:30 p.m.

Navy SEALs and friends enter the water at East End Beach on Thursday as they participate in the Peak to Peaks Challenge to raise funds and awareness for Camp Sunshine. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer