Looking forward
James Herbertson is a man who confesses he likes to tread the path of a life less ordinary. He will certainly be sticking to that path when he embarks on a charity channel swim at the end of July this year. After completing many endurance and charity events, he is turning his arms and legs to swimming, to raise money for his charity The Zimbabwe Rural Schools Development Programme. It will be the largest single fundraising event he has undertaken: not bad for a man who has a fear of marine life.
The channel crossing is 21 miles as the crow flies, or nearer 24 miles with the effect of the tides. The team hope to complete this in 12-14hours and have been training hard, in rough seas of late, to prepare for the crossing. Channel swimming is no casual affair, and the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) strictly enforce rules governing every aspect of the event. These include no wetsuits (lard is optional), the feet being out of the water at either end, and nothing and no-one must touch the swimmer in between. Food and drink must be passed to the swimmer by a stick.
The team will receive a 12-hour notice of good weather, some time from the 22nd of July, upon which they assemble in Dover. Numbers on the boat will be small: 6 swimmers, CSA official observer, Skipper, mate and one supporter. The team will be swimming in a relay, which may be less water-time for each swimmer but brings in more complications rule-wise! Every swimmer must be in the water for 1 hour (no more, no less), the order must stay the same so tactics can’t be changed once the swim has begun. The risk of sea-sickness, cramp or other injury is high and should a swimmer succumb to one of these, they must either get in the water for an hour on their turn, or the swim is declared invalid. Once France is reached, and the swimmer has their feet dry, they aren’t quite finished: they get back in the surf and swim back to the boat before making the crossing back to England.
Fleet Osteopathy & Sports Injury Clinic has been involved helping to prepare James for the Channel Swim. James first came to see osteopath Hazel 3 years ago suffering from a knee injury ahead of a cross country half marathon in Belgium, which he was running dressed as a smurf. Hazel diagnosed referred pain resulting from an imbalance in the pelvis and hips and with treatment and exercise advice, he was able to complete the event pain-free. Since then, he has regularly revisited the clinic before and after large events, usually with a specific problem to overcome. Treatment is important to James because it helps to improve flexibility and reduce impact on his body to avoid major pain. This is why he came in to the clinic so early in his training for the Channel Swim, without a specific problem, because he wanted to prevent acute pain on the day or damage from training or the event. He had treatment regularly for 3months prior to the swim and most of this was focused on maintaining flexibility and reducing tensions and restrictions in the hips, spine and shoulders. As a result of long swims in rough, cold seas a slight shoulder injury developed which was treated successfully by manipulation, acupuncture and some alterations to his swimming technique. James feels keeping his joints mobile and muscles loose has improved his training, performance and recovery after each session.
We grilled James on the big swim
What are you most looking forward to (other than touching French soil at the other end)?
Returning to London to celebrate and share the moment with my Dad, he wanted to be on boat but can’t come. Also being part of something so vast.. a little drop in the channel
What are you least looking forward to?
Meeting sealife! Especially jellyfish. We have come across 3 types so far: large, stinging red ones that “float” like WW2 naval bombs a little below the surface; and non-stinging clear jellyfish with and without blue streaks. Also jumping in: no wetsuits are allowed and it will be 15 degrees at best!
How many km of practice have you swam?
Around 300km in the last 6 months
Where have you trained?
Quite a range of locations: my local leisure centre, The Serpentine (with its blue and green algae infestation), Normandy, Forth of Firth, Singapore (with “unidentified” marine life) and Tooting Bec Lido.
Is this the first event of this type you have done?
Yes of this magnitude
What other endurance events have you done?
3 marathons (Madrid and London), Olympic Triathlon (Mimizam, France), Sprint triathlons, London to Brighton bike ride and numerous half-marathons and 10km races. The majority of these have been for charity, and we’ve raised around £10k for charities such as Breast Cancer, Alzheimer’s and the British Heart Foundation.
Tell us a about the charity you are raising money for on the Channel Swim
Aged 18, I taught on my gap year in rural Zimbabwe. Afterwards, I got together with others who had had a similar experience and the Zimbabwe Rural Schools Development Programme was born. Its aim is to improve facilities in rural schools where accommodation, equipment and building limitations are hindering the education and development of local children. The charity has, to date, funded new buildings, accommodation for teachers, books, desks and even vegetable plots to feed the children and locals. £50k was raised last year and we are hoping to raise £25k from the Channel Swim alone this year.
What have you learnt or discovered about yourself that you didn’t know prior to donning your trunks and goggles in earnest?
3 things. That training for a goal and breaking it down helped to overcome my fear and anxiety about swimming in the open sea. Secondly, realising the human body is able to do incredible things when asked and on a normal day we don’t challenge ourselves enough to push it half as far as what it is capable of. Finally, the wonder of sport. Professional athletes have an experience amateurs don’t get to see and by doing such a big event, I feel like I have seen a glimpse of their world and what goes into it, with the dedication in the last 6 months. So much thought goes into every aspect of life: giving things up, diet, sleep, work schedules, which meant that sport became part of life with no line in between the two. This is very different to a quick run at the gym and feels great!
If you would like to sponsor James and the team and raise funds for Zimbabwe Rural Schools Development Programme, please visit: www.justgiving.com/channel-swim-zrsdp
James and the team very much appreciate your support in helping to raise £10k for Zimbabwe Rural Schools.
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