What I learned from swimming the English Channel

I swam the English Channel in 11:01 hours! Below are my lessons for anyone attempting a future marathon swim. Train diligently, experiment with feeds, and have fun.

1. Bring your passport!
2. Wear new goggles for long training swims. They never fogged. I use Speedo Vanquisher.
3. Mack’s silicone earplugs (use 1.5 per ear).
4. Badger sport ZINC sunblock SPF 35. It’s safe for the ocean and lasted my entire EC swim. I never got sunburnt.
5. Using latex gloves, apply a generous coat of Bag Balm around the suit lines, neck, and anywhere that rubs to prevent chafing.
6. Pre-test all feeds ahead of time and bring extra of everything. I used primarily Hammer Perpetuem, CarboPro mixed with a splash of Gatorade, baby food pouches (apple sauce, banana, strawberry flavors), Stinger gels, Stinger waffle, Hammer gels, and croissants filled with jam!
7. Rinse with diluted mouthwash every 2 hours to cleanse salinity. The English Channel is very salty.
8. There are jellyfish — be prepared to get stung.
9. Wear a long-hair silicone swim cap. It covers more of your head and you don’t have to adjust it often.
10. Duct tape to secure bottles, feeds to rope. Bring extra.
11. 50 feet of rope for feeds. Needs to stay slack for entire feed or you can get disqualified for the assistance.
12. Keep feeds to 15–20 seconds. The strong tide will push you further away every time you stop. Longer feeds = longer swim.
13. Have hot feeds if you’re cold. Bring extra powder to have your crew mix it on the boat.
14. Arrive at least 4 nights before your window starts to acclimate to the time zone, sleep, and relax before swim. You may be asked to go before your window if conditions are favorable.
15. Crew should take anti-nausea medication BEFORE they get on the boat. Stugeron (cinnarizine) — only available in the UK, was the most effective.
16. Train in all type of conditions. The swims that were extremely choppy or windy ended up being my best workouts.
17. Don’t look up! France will always appear closer than it actually is.
18. Choose your crew wisely. Make sure they’ve had practice piloting and throwing feeds, have at least one person with a swimming background and/or able to identify signs of hypothermia, and are motivating/positive people.
19. When you think you can’t swim anymore, you can.
20. Enjoy it!

Have fun!

AUsome crew (left to right: Justin (husband/swimmer), Therese (friend/swimmer), Nancy (sister), and Matt (brother-in-law))

White Horse Tavern recently stopped swimmers from signing the wall. Bring your own sharpie.