Emma
France's Journey to Swimming the English Channel:
Challenge '08
There's also some additional information on the links below:
I had planned to swim Lake Windermere this year as my key stepping stone on my journey to the Channel in 2009. However, things never go to plan. The date ended up clashing with my referee assessment at the National Youth Championships, so I had to come up with a plan B, and then a plan C and D!!
Plan D is to complete a 3 person channel relay.
This is a challenge that has only been completed 10 times before:
| Year | Name | Country | Time | Date | Organisation |
| 2002 | Three Degrees | UK | 11:42 | CSA | |
| 2003 | Tooting Bec Commoners | International | 11:02 | CSA | |
| 2003 | South London SC | England | 12:52 | 17/09/2003 | CS&PF |
| 2003 | Frozen Cod Relay Team | International | 13:55 | CSA | |
| 2004 | Waterbabes | British | 17:12 | CSA | |
| 2006 | Zambezi Frog | Zambia | 10:09 | 17/07/2006 | CS&PF |
| 2006 | Shamrock Sharks | Ireland | 10:57 | 17/07/2006 | CS&PF |
| 2006 | Team Budgy | Australia | 11:06 | CSA | |
| 2006 | The Swilly Trio | Eire | 15:00 | CSA | |
| 2007 | The Wheat from the Chaff | UK | 13:46 | 11/08/2007 | CS&PF |
Our relay team is called '3 Birds and a Boat' we've already had one attempt which we had to abort due to one of the swimmers being very sick on the boat and in the water. We will be swimming it again with the other team members this time being Sam Jones and Jim Boucher - both who completed successful solo channel swims.
Clearly this is much more difficult that a standard relay, and a good stepping stone for my solo next year. I don't know how long it will take, but it could take a while!!
My training this year has been tailored specifically for this event, so it is definitely do-able. The main risks are:
I've managed to book Neil's boat again (see below) the first swim was on the last tide of the season - 21st - 27th September, the re-swim is planned for 9th October if the weather holds. I've not managed to find any details of other relay or special category swims that have been done this late in the year.
Swimming 1 Mile on the hour, every hour, for 24 hours......
On the 4th October the first annual 2Swim4Life challenge took place at the Wycombe Sports Centre. The challenge started at 0900hrs and finished at 0900 hours the following day. The group of swimmers that took part were fantastic.
As this event was in the pool, in some ways it was a little easier to predict, at least you know for sure when it's happening. The challenges / risks for me were:
There was a significant risk that I won't complete the challenge!!!
This was an absolutely amazing event to be involved in. Stewart and Lesley who organised everything, did an amazing job. There were volunteers there throughout who helped with not only counting laps but also knowing just when a friendly work or smile would make all the difference.
Before the event I had worked out that theoretically I was good for 12 hours. I didn't want to be the first to drop out (peer pressure is a strong motivator!).
I felt a little sore on the first mile and then never really felt any aches and pains again. Unfortunately the thing that did impact most, if not all of the swimmers in some way, was the chlorine. By 4 hours I had a sore throat, by 6 my chest was starting to get sore and I developed a nasty cough. This gave me 2 concerns:
1. I didn't want a repeat of the chest
problem that I had for the first 5 months of the year
2. I needed to ensure that I didn't push myself far enough
that I couldn't complete the channel relay a few days later.
Therefore at 17 miles I, for once of my life, I did the sensible thing and bailed out. I did do an extra mile later. But that was that. I finished knowing that I could have done more, which is a nice feeling. Who knows if I could have done all 24, I guess we'll have to wait until next year to find out!
A select few swimmers did complete the full swim and I take my hat off to them - it was a tough enough challenge already, but you take for granted the ability to breath, which on this occasion was seriously compromised by the pool chemicals.
I can't wait for next year!!
