In mid-September, I’ll be attempting one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world: swimming the English Channel — 21 miles of cold, unpredictable water — to raise money for MDS UK.

In 2022, my dad was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a rare blood cancer where the bone marrow fails to produce enough healthy blood cells. Affecting only 5 in 100,000 people, MDS is an incredibly rare and degenerative condition, for which there is currently no cure.

Thankfully, our family has had incredible support from MDS UK, an extraordinary charity that provides invaluable help to patients like my dad — from keeping them informed about clinical trials to promoting awareness of the disease.

Any donation, big or small, will make a real difference. It will help other MDS patients get the support they need when they receive a life-changing diagnosis. Please also feel free to share this page with your teams, departments, and networks.

How training has gone?

https://youtube.com/shorts/QG2iJe23OXI?si=y6OWq50u9isztpfL

Just 18 months ago, I couldn’t swim front crawl. I started in the slow lane in the pool with a kickboard and the most basic of drills (see video) before progressing to open water.

Training has had to fit around a full time career in banking and my 15 month old son, and involved routinely waking up at 4am to start work before hitting the pool for 90 mins, and then going again after a full day of work. Weekends this summer have been spent travelling up and down the M20 to Dover, then spent face down in cold water for hours, sometimes being sick, and often battling with my own self-doubt and urges to quit. I lost a lot of those battles, but each time I evaluated why, showed up again next week, and tried again - laying the mental and physical foundation to take on the challenge of a lifetime

To date, my longest swims have been a continuous 6 hour qualifying swim in 16 degree water (whilst struggling with a stomach bug), and more recently 13 hours over a weekend (7 hours on Saturday, 6 hours on Sunday)

What is the English Channel Swim?

Swimming from England to France, non-stop. The “Everest of open-water swimming”, crossing from England to France means:

-21 miles of open water – but tides often make it even longer.

-No wetsuit allowed – just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles.

-Freezing temperatures – around 18°C, risking hypothermia.

-Unpredictable conditions – strong tides, waves, and sudden weather changes.

-16–20 hours of nonstop swimming – no touching the boat or land until I finish.

-Marine life – jellyfish stings and the occasional curious seal.

-High failure rate – only about 40–50% of attempts succeed each year