Adventures – Channel Swim 2017

Having completed the Ironman 70.3 at Pula in Croatia in 2015, Mike had really developed a taste for the swimming leg. He decided to conquer his own Everest, and in 2016 set out to become the first person with multiple sclerosis to swim across the English Channel. 21 miles as the crow flies (further with tides), in 15-16°C water for 15 or more hours. Who wouldn’t want to give it a go?

Mike pulled together a support team and went into the adventure with a clear goal: to raise awareness of what MS is, what it isn’t, and to demonstrate the extent to which it’s possible to live a physically active life with MS. A fantastic report on BBC News showed the extent to which he achieved this, following a year of preparation, training and fundraising to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

When the day arrived, Mike waded into the sea before dawn, with his coach, friends and an observer on the boat and supporters from all round the world cheering him on and watching his progress live online. Although the weather was quite mild, the sea itself was varied, and got very choppy on a number of occasions. On its own, this would have been manageable.

But there were two other problems: the tide, which pulled Mike heavily off course, and unforeseen challenges around the process of feeding. During a normal channel swim, the swimmer treads water every half hour while they take on sustenance. Due to his MS, Mike can’t tread water, so he had to try to feed while swimming.

By the time Mike’s crew decided to call off the swim, Mike had in fact swum 26 miles, veering far south of Calais, which on any other day would have put him miles inland past his destination. Despite this Mike knew he had overcome great odds to get there – and he also knew that having swum that far and not quite made it to France, he had definitely given it his all. Exhausted but elated, Mike rode the boat home wondering what his next challenge would be.

Mike’s efforts that day have since inspired many people with MS to undertake their own challenges. Taking on the adventure is more important to Mike than any thoughts of “what if I had carried on a little longer that day?” He knows that if you’ve never failed, then you’ve never truly challenged yourself. On that day the channel won, but it’s still there and Mike plans to be there again too at some point in the future.

To book Mike as a motivational speaker for your event, click here.