My better half has finally ground me down and I have agreed to take 2 years off between 'anything stupid'.  Although I am still very keen on organising a Deca IM, the thought of actually competing is looking more and more unlikely.  The reason for this is that I can't actually think of a reason why I would want to do a Deca.  I always look for a challenge that takes endurance to its limits but I need the thrill of not knowing if I am ever going to finish the event. I'm not saying for one minute that a Deca Ironman would not be real tough, but I am not thinking, 'I wonder if I will finish this thing', but more like, 'I wonder what state my body wil be in when I finish this thing'.

So the Deca is not what I am looking for.  Ideas have been thrown around my head including cycling from J.O.G to Lands End (1000 miles), running along the Great South West Coastal Path (354 miles), then swimming around the island of Portland.  This would be a great challenge, but not one that would ask me the, 'Will I finish' question.


Swimming the English Channel is what makes the Enduroman Arch 2 Arc special.  And just to add insult to injury, athletes have to run 87 miles before they jump into the dirty blue swamp.  No Ironman, Ultra Triathlon, Double, Treble, Deca or Treble Deca is going to be as challenging.  There is one element of swimming the channel which I believe asks the most from an athlete.  He or she is asked to fight against mother nature and no amount of luck is going to help them.

At first I couldn't justify another attempt on the Arch 2 Arc just to break the world record.  I could train my ass off, run down to Dover even faster than last time and the weather may turn again and everything would be lost.  Everybody that has swam the channel will tell you that the feeling of touching the French coast is 'very' magical.  The feeling I have is 'quite' magical. The only thing that has stopped me gaining the 'very' feeling is......... The Wetsuit!!!

The thought of attemting to beat the world record without wearing a wetsuit on the swim has put a completely different slant on the challenge.  The ultimate aim of the challenge would be to complete the A2A without wearing a wetsuit.  If the good weather joins me en-route to Paris and the record comes my way then that would be a bonus.

So in true Haywood style, I phoned Eddie to make sure the week I want to attempt the challenge is free, then I phoned my boat pilot and booked my slot and finally I thought about whether I could afford it or not!!  

Swimmer No1 position booked for the first neap tide in August 2009