News
The Mind Marathon
- Mental health research supporter Matt Harry has started preparation for his charity swim across the English Channel! All money he raises will go to research into mental illness.
Join Matt and help him to reach his goal; through his blog you can experience his "mind marathon" and raise vital funds for medical research.
Donate money to Matt's Mind Marathon here.
In his first entry Matt says...
"I'm pumped for it! ...as I pile on the kilos to protect my organs from the cold and increase my ability to stay in the water long enough to reach the other side. Most swimmers put on between 15 and 25% extra body weight to achieve this. I have begun this process in earnest and look forward to gnawing my way through anything that is made of food and unlucky enough to cross my path!"
Apart from being impressed that someone would do this and the sheer dedication and physical effort that a swim like this would entail we were also amazed at the rules laid down for a channel swim. We didn't realise you had to have rules...and what rules they are:
The first rule is - No wetsuit, Speedos only, second rule is not so bad - One cap, one pair of goggles, the last rule - harsh - No shark cages, no contact with other people or the support boat
The fact about the English Channel don't surprise us, the water temperature averages 14-17 degrees Celsius, it is the World busiest shipping lane with 500 ships/day, and the shortest distance is 34km but with the tides the average distance swum is somewhere in the vicinity of 40-45km.
From everyone here - Go Matt!
