To Swim the English Channel at 58

A little over a year ago I began training to swim the English Channel this September. I will be 58 years old then.

My friends thought I had lost my mind; my wife didn't think I was crazy but she was somewhat worried. The question I was asked over and over was this:

Why?

When a student reporter at Indiana recently asked me this question, I said, "First, let me ask you a question. What are your plans for this summer?" He replied that he was going to work in a supermarket. I didn't have to say more; he understood my point.

A challenge and something of an adventure are welcome whether you are 20 or 58, and preparing to swim the Channel is far better than working in a supermarket, especially when you have a choice.

But why did I decide to swim the Channel at 58? Perhaps I myself can hardly give a satisfactory answer.

The Channel has always been the greatest challenge to swimmers; a test of ability, endurance, luck, and even bravery. It is this challenge that attracts about 100 swimmers a year, who are willing to spend time, effort, and money trying it.

One fact that adds to my interest is that, if I succeed, I will be the oldest person ever to swim the Channel.

I don't think I'm a superman. I do think I have at least two things in my favor:

First, I am training hard—now swimming 7 and a half miles a day. Prior to that time I also kept physically fit by training moderately hard.

Second, I am a resolute man. Once I set up a goal, I won't give it up easily. And this swim has long been a goal. I have a feeling I will be mentally ready and won't do as one Channel swimmer did a few years ago. He trained hard for a couple of years, made the arrangements and even went to England weeks early to train in the Channel before his attempt. The great day came, and he started swimming toward France. After swimming only one hour, he got out of the water and climbed aboard the boat, saying that he suddenly had lost the desire to swim the channel and it no longer meant anything to him.

On the other hand there was the young girl who was attempting to finish her swim when the ocean got rough. She was having a tough time with the rough and cold water, when her trainer shouted to her from the boat that he thought she should give up and get out of the water. She shouted back, "I'm doing the swimming, and I'll decide when to get out." She made it.