QUESTION YOUR MOTIVES You should ask yourself some questions before put ing your deposit down. Why do you want to swim the Channel? Only a very genuine answer will resonate enough during the darkest moments of training. "Because it's there" or "Because it's on my list just ahead of Mount Everest" probably won't cut it when you're verging on hypothermia and your hands have set into claws.
GET A SUPPORT STRUCTURE Do you have the time and funds to dedicate to training? There's no doubt about it – training for the Channel takes a great deal of time over at least one, if not two or more, years. It's rewarding, but ultimately selfi sh. Do your spouse or partner, kids, signifi cant other, best friend and boss understand what will be involved? Do they support you?
UNDERSTAND WHAT’S INVOLVED There will be times when you're so tired you can't do household chores and work is a struggle. You may need to leave at the drop of a hat if you get a call saying the weather looks good for your swim tomorrow, or you may need to go to sleep at 4pm in order to leave the house at midnight to start your swim at 3am. You'll certainly be training almost all day every weekend from April until your tide. And when you're not training, you're likely to be exhausted and unable to articulate the enormity of what you’re facing. Do you have the necessary practical and emotional support around you? You won’t know how much you can take until you’re training eight hours a day.
ACCLIMATISE It's pret y cold in the Channel (probably between 15˚C and 18˚C when you swim across), but, for many, it's the gruelling temperatures of training swims that are more diffi cult to cope with. By the time your tide rolls around, you've acclimatised over months or years of regular swims, the summer sun is likely to be at its fullest, and you have the ultimate motivation driving the cold from your mind. Your training swims will start on overcast, grey and rainy April
weekends when the water temperature is barely 10˚C. Let me tell you – it hurts. It's the kind of cold which is so cold your brain tells you it’s burning hot. If you can get through the training, you have a fi ghting chance at get ing through the swim. You certainly don't have a hope in hell of get ing through it without!
JOIN A TRAINING SESSION Don't be fooled into thinking that because you can swim 20-plus miles in the pool, you can swim the Channel. Before you commit to a Channel swim, give training a serious go. Get yourself to one of the Channel-swimming training sessions in Dover, run by Freda Streeter (mother of record holder Alison Streeter) and her trusty crew. The sessions are every Saturday and Sunday from the fi rst bank holiday in May until the end of the season. Do your research before turning up, then spend the weekend there and train both days. You'll soon realise how much there is to consider – stuff you didn't even think about until you were in the water. Plan the costs for travel and accommodation into your swim budget. There are other training sessions across the country, as well as experienced Channel swimmers and coaches who will help you in your quest. It's a long journey from your fi rst training swim to touching land in France, but you don't have to go it alone. ○
SO YOU WANT TO BE A CREW MEMBER?
Are you able to work long hours without pay in diffi cult conditions? Can you follow orders and put other people’s needs above your own? Can you drop whatever else you’re doing and get to Dover Harbour within a few hours, driving through the night if necessary? If yes, then contact your nearest Channel swimmer for details on joining their crew. Joking aside, supporting another swimmer’s Channel
at empt, while tough, is incredibly rewarding. Yes, the swimmer gets all the credit and his or her name in the record books, but you get the quiet satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped someone achieve a signifi cant goal. Although you don’t need to train like a swimmer, being prepared can make a lot of diff erence. Here are some of the qualities you need to be an eff ective crew member:
üCAST-IRON STOMACH Or at least some functional travel sickness pills. Sea
sickness is incredibly disabling and your swimmer needs you so ensure at least one crew member doesn’t suff er.
üTHICK SKIN Your swimmer is unlikely to say, “Would you be so awfully
kind as to pass me a couple of painkillers.” More likely: “Give me Nurofen. NOW!”
üUNDERSTANDING The person in the water will have
invested thousands of pounds and thousands of hours of training in this swim and they won’t have anything else in mind. They won’t be thinking of your feelings.
üFIRST AID SKILLS Hypothermia is a real risk
in Channel swimming. Will you be able to recognise the symptoms and respond? Other risks can include cuts and grazes from rocks, dehydration or even heart failure.
üA PLAN Work out how you will communicate with the swimmer.
How oſt en will you provide food and drink, and what will you give them? Work this out with the swimmer in advance.
üA POSITIVE OUTLOOK The swimmer will take clues from you. If you appear
dejected, downcast or worried the swimmer may start to lose the confi dence needed to keep moving. Smile and believe in your swimmer.
üCAMERA SKILLS While your top priority is to get the swimmer to France, a
photographic or video record of some kind is certainly an added bonus.
üSMART PHONE Friends and family may be desperate for status updates.
Twit er and Facebook feeds make it easy to update and communicate with multiple people.
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