Videos from the swim..... (language warning!)

Setting off at 2am......

5am - Swimming throught the night....

7am - hitting the first shipping lane


10am - into the separation zone


12pm - Sandy gets in for a boost of speed.....


2pm - Inspirational words from the pilot......


2.30pm - Low point - getting worried about the tides and not moving anywhere!

5pm - High Point - Broken the back of the tides pushing us back to England


6pm - The final push for France


7.30pm - Getting back in the boat

7.30pm - Done.

Pictures from the swim.....

Getting greased up prior to the swim......

Getting going at night for the first couple of hours.....

Support crew Keyso and my dad "poisoning" me on my first feed....

Feeding on Maxim.......

Going through the shipping lanes......

Sandy my support swimmer setting the pace.....

Ploughing on.......

France comes into view........

The final push......

Dee and keyso sitting pretty.....

An amazing feeling - hitting France.......

Getting out to a beautiful sunset.....

Done.

The Swim.....

A couple of days after finishing the swim I have had time to relax and get rid of some of the stiffness which has left me walking like in a straight jacket for the past couple of days.

The swim itself - the first hour was possibly the best swim I have ever had - the water felt really warm despite being a tad choppy and it felt amazing to actually be able to have a crack at something I had trained so hard and long for. We set off at 2am and swimming in the dark was a really amazing experience.

For the first 3 hours I fed on the hour, and made a bit of a mistake in the feeding. I was sick on the boat before setting off (combination of nerves and a rocking boat!) and so should have had a weak maxim energy drink feed but was given quite a strong drink on the 1st hour. This have me stomach pains for hours 2-4 and meant I had some 'issues' in the water!?! The support crew handled the situation brilliantly though and the next few feeds were really just hot water to help wash the strong Maxim through my system and settle my stomach.

By hours 5 and 6 the sun had come up and I was feeling much better so went back onto the Maxim energy drink at feeds. I was having some solids (banana and mini rolls) every now and again, and was feeling pretty strong. The weather was overcast and actually felt myself getting quite cold for a couple of hours, and was worried this might impact the swim, but luckily by hour 7/8 ish I warmed up again.

By now we had entered the shipping lanes, which was a truly awesome experience swimming so close to huge tankers and passenger ferries. It never felt scary though as I knew my pilot Paul Foreman, who was brilliant throughout, was setting a 'safe' course through the lanes.

The sea was surprisingly clean, and I did not see much sewage and only a few jelly fish, but by this point a jelly fish sting would have been a welcome distraction! Hours 9 and 10 my pace slowed dramatically and I was really just plodding along. I was tyring to work out how long I had been swimming for and how I had long left - before setting out I was aiming for a 14/15 hour swim.

After hour 10/11 I can't really remember an awful lot. I remember the support crew saying we just need a 30 minute push now about 10 times and just tried to kick my legs as quick as possible and turn over my arms as quick as possible. When my support swimmer Sandy got in however, who incidentally was also a legend throughout, it showed me how slowly I was moving as he was rotating his arms very slowly and I just couldn't keep up with him!

The real crunch of the swim came when we were about 4 miles out. The tides turned from helping us towards France to push us back to England. In 2 hours I move about 50 metres forward and started drifting along the coast. Although they obviously didn't tell me at the time the pilot and support crew were seriously worried that we weren't going to make it.

I was aware we weren't making good progress as the boat's engine wasn't on and I was just staying at the same place on the boat and not moving forward. By this time (14 hours in) my shoulders had pretty much gone and I was really struggling. Some really motivating words from the support crew got me going though and I gave it everything for an hour (the pain was pretty intense by now so i just tried to count to 5000 strokes to take my mind off it...) to try and break through the tides and get into the bay.

That couple of hours was the hardest test I have ever encountered both mentally and physically and I did seriously consider that I would not complete the challenge and thought how horrible it would be to have to tell everyone. We made it through though and when we got through the tides into the bay the last hour or so was in flat water and with a beautiful sunset was an amazing swim. I finally hit France at about 7.15pm elated and knackered - an amazing day and one I definitely would not have completed had it not been for a superb support crew.

Job Done

I swam the channel on the 22nd August 2008 in 17 hours 13 minutes.

It was an amazing experience swimming at night, swimming through the busy shipping lanes and finally hitting French sand!!

It was touch and go for a while whether I would get there as the tide started going out and we drifted sideways for couple of hours, but a magnificent support crew of Sandy, Keyso, Dee and my dad helped massively in getting to France.

Will post videos and pictures soon.

Frustration! w/c 11/08/08

I have been on standby waiting to swim now for 10 days.

My original slot was the 7th - 16th August, but due to the rubbish weather that we have had recently unfortunately I haven't been able to go, despite an addiction to weather forecasting website windguru!!

My neap tide has now expired and the spring tides are back (spring tides are not favoured by swimmers as there is more water in the sea, meaning a bigger "S" has to be swum across the channel - increasing the distance swum).

Despite this though I really want to get a swum done before Saturday, as if I don't manage to go before then the next set of neap tides, new swimmers will get priority and I will potentially have to wait until the end of the season; i.e. end of September. This is the worst case scenario as it would mean I would have to scale back up the training to longer swims, and also mean I will miss loads of good events at the end of summer. Not ideal, but I am more than willing to do it given all the time invested into this challenge.

Due to the bad weather this year the success rate of swimmers has been low. On Friday 10 people attempted to swim the channel and only 1 succeeded, as the weather got quite nasty at very late notice.

As the channel swimming mantra states though ".. nothing great is ever easy..." and that has been bourne out to me over the past few weeks.

Taper Down w/c 27/07/08

Nice and relaxing week this week still tapering down so only a few short swims.

The weekend was slightly more eventful though. On saturday driving to the harbour for an early start I managed to write off my mum's car by getting spun around and subsequently hit by a lorry! We were going pretty slow but it was still a bit shocking and got neck ache. As I was spinning round though and saw the lorry coming all I could think of was I hope I don't get hurt here or I won't be able to do the swim!

Apart from a stiff neck I was fine, although I was straddling the dual carriage way so the police had to close the road for a couple of mins to move the car! My mum came and get the car towed leaving me to go down to the harbour and do my swim!

All I did though was 2 hours on saturday and 2 hours on sunday - enjoyable swims although it was bit chilly going in on sunday with pretty heavy rainfall.

Hopeful swimming the channel next Saturday, weather pending - can't wait to have a crack at it!!!!

The Theory of Relativity w/c 20/07

7 hours training on saturday and 3 hours on sunday - the taper has now seriously begun!

Weather much better this week and that made a huge difference as it enables you to relax and enjoy the swimming rather than being worried about being cold.

This was my third weekend of doing a 7 hour swim and perhaps unsurprisingly it gets slightly easier every time. During the hours of swimming I was thinking just how relative everything in life is. When we were swimming 2 hours a 3 hour swim was scary, when swimming 4 hours 5 seemed ridiculous; but when you have met / are familiar with these goals they become much less imposing. This is surely the same for most things - i.e. hours worked, acceptable pain threshold etc....

Its made me very interested in just how far you could push the body - if you did 15 hours every week could that become "normal"? Also is it your body adjusting that makes it easier or the fact that you know mentally that you can do it - i.e. no 'fear of the unknown' - I remember someone saying to me that the only people afraid of getting punched on the nose are people who have never been punched on the nose as they cant rationalise the pain - i.e. its never as bad you think it might be.....

Lots of swimmers now going out, including Pete and Kev from the Malta crew who are out at the moment - massive amounts of good luck to both!

Mind Games - w/c 13/07

I thought I was only going to have a 5 hour swim on Saturday, so was pretty surprised when the Channel General gave me 7 hours in choppy waters (what is going on with the wind this summer!?!)

We, the swimmers, never know what swim length we are going to be doing until 5 mins before the swim - this training technique is called Total Body Confusion and is designed to make you more mentally agile to deal with unexpected issues during sport. Although the theory sounds great its pretty demoralising when your standing on the beach with drizzling rain at 8.30am and your told you're going to be in the water until 4pm!

The swim however was okay. I swam the whole way with a partner, Rob - something I've not done before - and it helped make the time go quicker, probably speeded me up a bit and made me realise how important the support swimmer will be on the channel attempt.

Sunday was a bit more leisurely as just did 4 hours, however I actually found that pretty hard as with some of the shorter swims you sometimes don't give them the 'respect' they deserve and are always checking your watch.

However the Channel General said for me the long swims are now done - time to start tapering down (great news......) and start getting things together for the swim on the second week of August.

Split Swim - w/c 07/07

Did the big split swim this weekend.

Before swimming the channel you are meant to spend almost as long in the water over the course of the weekend as the channel swim will take (didn't quite manage this as think the swim will take 15hours+).

On saturday I did 7 hours getting in at 9am and out at 4pm. The weather was chilly, the sea was quite choppy and all in all it was pretty hard work, but got it done. On the sunday I did 6 hours which i was dreading as shoulder muscles were in all sorts of trouble, but the swim was surprisingly okay - I'd almost say enjoyable! It was much warmer and seem to go really quickly. Its amazing how when you are doing long swims you fall into some sort of 'zone' and the time just disappears.

No real interesting happenings this week, although more people have started to start their attempts and the atmosphere is a bit more excited around the beach.

Only 4 weeks to go now, before my turn which i can't wait for. My motivation that I keep thinking of at the moment is to walk into the water one end and walk out the other - that would be brilliant!

Back on Track... w/c 31/05

After the excesses of the past 2 weeks it was good to get back on track with a good weekend of swimming. The warm weather training in Portugal (as per picture) did not turn out quite as expected....

After an earache during the week (swimmers ear!?!) I did 6 hours on Saturday and 4 on Sunday down in Dover Harbour. It was pretty gusty both days as well which I would estimate makes it approx 30% harder and means and the end of the swim your arms are really tired.

The current was also so strong that it was taking me 20 mins to swim one way and 45 to swim the other - in fact got caught in a strong current for about 20 mins at one point without actually moving which was pretty demoralising!

The first channel swimmers of the year went off last week with the first successful attempt by a German guy in just over 17 hours. Things are starting to get interesting now as the business end of the swimming season rolls on - very exciting and very nerve wracking. Giving up a summer and not completing the challenge is not worth contemplating, but this weekend did highlight just how important in this task, opposed to other events, you are at the mercy of the elements.

Anyway one more weekend in the bag and back on the journey.....





Getting ready to go in on saturday with my sister, Katy

Last Pre-Swim Blowout - w/c 16/06

Poor week on the training front this week.

Couple of 2 hour swims during the week, but then out for an old rugby mate's stag do in Albufeira for a long weekend.

3 x 18 hour drinking sessions not ideal training apparently.

Good luck with the wedding preps Massey and Jess.....

Champion of Champions! w/c 09/06

A bit of a break from the long swimming slogs this week as had the Champions of Champions races on Saturday (a very auspicious title given you don't have to be in any sort of champion swimmer to participate!), and a short 2.5 hour swim on Sunday.

The champion of champions (photo of getting vaselined up prior to the 5 mile race) is a series of 5 mile, 3 mile and 1 mile races with about an hour inbetween. It made a good change to do a bit of speed work, and actually felt more knackered after the event (which lasted from 8.30am to 5.30am) then after the 6 hour continouous swim the weekend before. Some really impresiive swimmers participating though especially one of my Malta crew, Peter May, who came 2nd overall in the mens and was rewarded with a 7 hour swim on Sunday (which incidentally was also his 40th b.day and Fathers Day!!).

On the Sunday I only did 2.5 hours as went for a Fathers Day Meal at lunch - felt pretty bad about this though as all the rest of the guys were doing 6 and 7 hour swims, and next weekend I am away on a stag do.

Interesting Things that Happened This Week....

- Went for a work day trip to Marbella and managed to get a swim in the sea for 40 mins - I had forgotten that in some open water you can (a) see where you are going; (b) swallow water without instantly retching; (c) see fish and other marine life. No hard feelings though Dover harbour!

- Got stung by a jelly fish on finishing the second race - in response I instictively lashed out at the guilty jelly fish and hit in with my hand..... it stung me again - Jelly Fish 2 Me 0

- Missed my Physio on Thursday as too busy at work, and realised just how important it is, as shoulder felt pretty sore all weekend

Endless Swimming w/c 01/06

Found it pretty hard to balance work and swimming this week as been pretty busy, so only did a couple of short sessions during the week. However made up for it in Dover on the weekend with a 4hr 30 and 6 hour swim on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The Sunday swim was my longest ever swim so that was a nice milestone to hit, and although the last hour was a real struggle it was a good feeling of progression.

During the week also went down to have an endless pool session. This is a pool about the size of 4 jacuzzis which has a constant stream of water for you to swim against. The facility is called Swim for Tri and is located at Brick Lane for anyone interested. Coaches analyse your stroke and tell you how to improve - not unsurprisingly my stroke was ripped apart, but took some interesting learnings away:

• Need to keep water level on top of head to take pressure off the lower back and aid bouyancy/body position - I always thought water level should be just above eyeline
• Kicking should be lower depth but higher frequency, and especially with the roll when breathing the feet must not cross and should be kicking at an angle (to support the glide)
• Arm should come out the back of the stroke after accelerating past the thigh
• Stroke should alwayss be Long and Strong

I will put up the video of my stoke that they gave me in due course!

Only other point of note was the ultrasound that the physio gave me which seemed to really help and my dodgy shoulder felt much better this week.

Last Week's Swimming

Tuesday - 2km - Speed Session
Thursday - 2km - Technique
Saturday - 11km - Endurance
Sunday - 16km - Mega Endurance

Long Cold Weekend w/c 25/05

Another big step up in training this weekend - 35km this week.

Did a 4 hour open water swim on both Saturday and Sunday. When doing the longer swims you have to break the session down into hour chunks and get through the each hour, reset your mind and then and start again. We get a warm Maxim Energy drink every hour which normally tastes disgusting but tastes like liquid gold when you are really cold and low on energy! I also try and turn my mind off and set myself little challenges as per below......

Things I thought about Whilst Doing the Long Weekend Swims:
- 18 first class county cricket teams
- ABC of towns visited and not visited
- ABC of premiership footballers (also done for cricketers and rugby players!)
- 11 four letter countries in the world

The Sunday swim was pretty cold though as there was no sun on our backs and the 4 hours seemed to go very slowly. Also not unsurprisingly given each lap is 2km you don't tend to see anyone else and it often feels like you are the only one swimming and everyone else has got out (or everyone is playing some elaborate Truman Show esque prank on you!). When you are in the cold water for a good deal of time it affects your body in the following ways....

- Hands go numb and set in a claw like position making it quite hard to grab the water
- Feet go numb
- Shoulders seize up a little bit and shoulder blades get really cold
- You start to see things (i.e. seals, other swimmers nearby etc)

However some of the girls who do it are much skinnier than me and have much less insulation and they manage to get through it okay, so shouldn't feel too sorry for myself!

Training Week:
- Monday - 5km in Tooting Bec Lido
- Tuesday - 3km in Oasis Leisure Centre
- Thursday - 3km in Oasis Leisure Centre
- Saturday - 12km in Dover Harbour
- Sunday - 11km in Dover Harbour

Acupucture and Jellyfish! (w/c 18/05)

Decent weeks training this week as a bit more spare time at work and really good weekend in Dover gettting pretty much beasted by the Channel General Freda Streeter.

This is the longest I have done in any one week - 27km - in the UK. Saturday was especially hard with 20 knots winds flying around, but glad to get some decent distance under my belt.

Schedule for last week:

• Monday - 3km in Oasis Leisure Centre (technique session)
• Tuesday - 3km in Oasis Leisure Centre (speed session)
• Thursday - 3km in Oasis Leisure Centre (speed session)
• Friday - 5km in Parliament Hill Lido (endurance session)
• Saturday - 6.5km in Dover Harbour (endurance session)
• Sunday - 6.5km in Dover Harbour (endurance session)

Anything interesting happen this week?

- Had first bit of acupuncture this week - didn't really feel any benefit to be honest, but going to give it a go next week to see if it helps!

- Saw the first jellyfish in Dover harbour - after the hundreds encountered on the training camp in Malta it was nice to see a familar face in the channel

- Had a big collision with another swimmer in Dover harbour - split goggles, but hands were numb so couldn't replace them and didn't want to get told off for going in early so soldiered on with one eye shut for an hour!

PS. The picture above is not Dover, its Malta - wanted to put a picture in, but forgot to take camera down this week!

Channel Swim

I am attempting to swim the English channel on in the second week of August 2008.

As the crow flies the distance is around 21 miles, however its more like 30 miles with the tides included. I think this will probably take me around 15 hours, although it might be a tad longer as I seem to slow down more than others as the distances increase (not a great thing!).

If you wish to take the opportunity to sponsor me in the cause of Cancer Research you can do so at http://www.justgiving.com/rufushack

FAQs

Q: How far is it?
18.2 nautical miles, 21 land miles or 34 kilometres as the crow flies. Unfortunately the tidal conditions make it impossible to swim in a straight line, often adding significantly to the total distance that must be covered.

Q: Why Cancer Research?
1 in 3 people are affected by cancer at some point in their life, and there is a history of Cancer in my family

Q: Do you wear a wetsuit?
No. Wetsuits help to keep you warm, are an aid to buoyancy and help most people to swim faster. One may wear: 1 pair of Speedos, 1 hat and 1 pair of goggles. When swimming in the dark, light sticks are also permitted

Q: What does the training involve?
I have been training at weekends with the 'Channel General', Freda Streeter in Dover harbour. We share the harbour with dullard rowers and large ferries. 29 laps of the harbour is the approximate (straight line) distance to France. The harbour looks quite clean when viewed from a satellite. You can’t see the jelly fish either. An average week currently involves about 35-40k of swimming, mainly open water. For those who like this quantified in lengths of a 25m pool (and you are the majority), that's 1400 to 1600 lengths per week. The longest single swim I have done is 6 hours (several times). This will increase until around 2 weeks before the swim when tapering kicks in.

Q: Is the water dirty/cold?
Dover harbor is certainly pretty cold and is in no danger of being taken over by Evian. At the start of the season on 1st May, the temperature was approximately 11 degrees and this will hopefully increase to 16 degrees by the end of July. The Dover area is approximately 1 degree warmer than at the same time last year, suggesting that global warming is making channel swimming slightly easier.

Q: Do you have a boat to follow you?
Yes, indeed. Several swimmers have tried without troubling themselves with the inconvenience of arranging a support boat, but they are now dead so I thought this a reasonable precaution.

Q: How long will it take?
This is very hard to predict as it is entirely contingent upon the weather, particularly the wind direction and tides. The average time is approximately 14 hours. The tides near the French coast are notoriously tricky and it is not unknown to spend 3 or more hours within a mile of the coast.

Q: How many?
Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover swimming from England to France on 24 August–25 August 1875 in 21 hours and 45 minutes. He allegedly drank brandy and beer to keep him warm. According to the Channel Swimming & Pilot’s Federation website, up to the end of 2006 there have been:- 916 solo crossings from England to France- 255 solo crossings from France to England- This including 33 2-way swims & 3 3-way swimsThese were completed by completed by 544 male swimmers & 262 Female swimmers – 806 individuals in total.By comparison, as of the end of the 2006 climbing season, there have been 3,050 ascents to the summit of Everest, by 2,062 individuals (source: Wikipedia). The world record number of channel swims is held by Alison Streeter MBE, the General’s daughter. She has completed:43 Crossings in total1 x 3-way swim3 x 2-way swims34 x 1-way swims

Q: Grease, Goose fat, et al.
‘Greasing’ is allowed although this is concerned with preventing friction burns rather than keeping warm. Checklist of areas to grease:- Chin- Under arms- Triceps- Back of the neck- KnackersThere are several grease products available, although my current favourite is Vaseline petroleum jelly.