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The Run
Eventually we got the go ahead to start running and we set off to a rousing reception from all those around Canary Wharf. We ran slowly and chatted most of the way. We agreed that when we reached Greenwich Park, we would stop for a quick drink and then go for it. Up ahead I could see both support vehicles as well as the two "lead" cyclists who would cycle next to each runner with the route map. But what was really good to see as well, was that both teams were encouraging the other athlete on as well. I had a quick drink of water, and Eddie shouted "go". I bolted and got into a quick stride as soon as possible, Tim (support cyclist) was next to me explaining where to go for at the first roundabout. (fyi - this is all done whilst there is normal traffic on the roads). I was running at my threshold speed and trying to ask directions as well as watch for traffic. I had 30mins to try and make up some time. Tim said I had been running for 10mins and I knew I had maybe overcooked it a bit. The support vehicle passed us and all the team were shouting out the window.

I kept thinking, 20mins Keeto, and you can rest for 5hrs, I came to a high street which was crowded, and ended up hurdling prams and sidestepping grannies (O'Driscoll would've been proud). With 5mins to go we got to a slight downhill and this was my last chance to hammer it before passing onto James. As he sped off, I was shattered, but job done, we had put a chunk of distance in between us and CSFB. But they still had their strong runners at 3 & 4. Changed and grabbed a towel and into the mini-bus to follow James. And although I thought it would be good to grab an hour nap in the bus in between shifts....the adrenaline is so high, you don't want to miss a thing. So we went through our first rotation of runs, Keeto, James, Steffan, Rachel, Ben and Luke. All putting their bodies on the line, and even when getting lost in Maidstone, Rach managed to stay calm and just run that much harder. CSFB were now about 9mins ahead of us when the second round started. We calculated that probably myself, James and Steffen would run again before we got to Dover. The bonus was that I now had 60mins to catch Fiona, then try, and put some time into CSFB again. One thing we can vouch for is, when you think you are driving "down" to Dover...you are not !! It is very hilly, and my 2nd leg proved to be just that !

Tim was shouting at me, "Come on, you Jaapie, faster, faster", I couldn't even muster enough energy to reply to the Welshmen's comments, except wandering when he was going to offer me some more Lucozade. Finally I could see the minibus in the distance,....JOY,....nearly over,....just as I looked up, I saw the vehicle pulling away and up ANOTHER hill !! My heart sank, and Tim just shouted "Keeto last effort". That’s what he said 5mins ago. I could start feeling the after effects of Ironman UK, time trialling for 60mins is not the best way to recover from an Ironman. Finally I tagged James, and knew we had put a decent amount of distance between us and CSFB (16mins). With maybe 2 more legs before Dover, we stood a good chance of winning the run leg. James was flying and when he handed over to Steff, we could all but smell Dover. Steff ran well and we got to the finish line 4mins ahead of CSFB. So after 8hrs of running through streets and towns, only 240secs separated the 2 teams.

We spent a while chatting amongst the teams comparing notes on the hills etc. The time for tomorrow mornings swim was confirmed,...4am !! Now I have a theory that anytime you put a "3" on your alarm clock, you must know it is going to be a very looong day (Comrades and IronMan),...so to have to put "2:45" on it,...just scared me. We decided to drive to the beach and have a look at the conditions,.....bad mistake. Kelly Slater would've been happy with the 7ft surf that was pummelling the beach. There was a sudden change in facial expressions, even Jimmy the Fish knew these were rough conditions. There was an eerie silence in the bus on the way to the B&B. We were hungry and needed some sleep in order to be ready for the biggest day of our lives tomorrow. After unpacking and having a quick shower it was already 19h30. We headed to a local Italian place for some dinner. I could feel the fatigue starting to set in, as the entire day had been one long adrenaline rush. We did not give ourselves a chance in this event, as CSFB were by far the stronger team, but somehow we had managed to get the run victory under our belts. Lying in bed after dinner, I couldn't sleep. James was also tossing and turning, and I thought, "Sh*tballs, if Jimmy the Fish is worried about the swim, the rest of us are in some serious k*k !"

The Swim
I didn't sleep a wink, so when the alarm went off at 2:45am, I was up in a flash, and so was my room-mate. The swim order had been decided, James, Luke, Keeto, Steff, Ben, Rachel. We had a cup of coffee and then headed out to the minibus. Sea sickness tablets were being handed out, and only Ben declined. No guess as to who was giving his breakfast back to the English channel 5hrs later !! Tim and Eddie were the only ones who were going to join us on the support boat, the rest would be taking the vehicles across on the Ferry. We had our bananas, Cup-of-Soup, water and any other energy stuff. We met the CSFB guys in the car park and walked towards our respective boats. CSFB knew what lay ahead, as they had done many channel swims, we, on the other hand were heading into the unknown. We had to sign all the necessary documentation stating that we absolve any liability should anything happen. "Don't worry, said the Captain, we have been doing this for years, and we have only lost one person". Holy sh*t, how do you all of a sudden lose someone swimming next to a boat??? The skipper mentioned that we should have a strong swimmer doing the 6th leg, as it would mean that if the current turned on our 12th hour, then we wouldn't lose too much ground. In other words swim for an hour, and maybe not go anywhere. Great,....as James and Luke were very strong swimmers, I was slotted in at no.6 with Steff, Ben and Rach in the middle.

James was first up, and he had to make sure the fluorescent light was strapped to his swimcap and into the back of his costume. (Regulations state that you need to have 2 forms of lighting on the swimmer until sunrise). See pics attached. CSFB offloaded their first swimmer, another Saffa, who played waterpolo against James. So there we were, 4am at Shakespeare beach, in a boat, watching two guys swim to shore to begin a channel swim. I got goose bumps just thinking about what we were about to attempt. The boat was being thrashed around by the waves and it was only later that we heard that Eddie had confided in Tim, saying "I'm not sure you guys will make it to Calais in these conditions". Suffice to say, the fact that we made it shows what grit and guts the team showed.

The horn on the boat sounded, and both swimmers made their way into the water. From the outset it was apparent that the 60mins of swimming were going to be the toughest hour of our lives. We discussed how 2 people would help the exiting swimmer get dry and putting clothes on, aswell as having soup or tea ready. It was still pitch dark and we could see the CSFB boat parallel to us. Before the event, we thought we would lose maybe 3 or 4 hrs to CSFB in the swim. The chill in the air didn't even put a damper on our jovial spirits, and with Steff and Luke, our on board comedians, joined by the mad Welshman, time seemed to pass quickly. Luke was next in, he had to swim past James, and only then could James get out. (If the swimmer touches the support boat, the team is disqualified.) We helped James get dressed, and get him some tea. I was waiting to see what he said about the cold water, but when I saw how blue his lips were, that was enough. The sun started coming up, and it was an awesome sight. I had a good chuckle to myself thinking back when I told my gran I was going to Paris, and she asked whether I was taking the EuroStar or flying, and I said "No, we are swimming across the channel". She just shook her head and said, "Only you".

So Luke, Steff, Ben and Rach swam their first legs. Steff suffered the most from the cold. We dressed him in 4 layers of clothes and a blanket. The only complaint from the team was that the skipper and his 2 crewman had started cooking bacon and eggs. Now you can imagine how great that must smell under normal circumstances, but when swimming next to the boat, poor Luke had the smell wafting by him. I slowly got undressed for my first shift, and I will be totally honest, I was sh*tting myself. I suffer in the cold (hypothermia in 2003 on bike ride in Cobham), and knew that for me, it would be mind over matter. Going down the stairs off the back of the boat, my feet touched the water. I cannot repeat what words came out my mouth. I jumped in and lost my breath straight away. Swam past Rachel, gave her the thumbs up, and began trying to get into a rhythm. This is no normal 60mins Putney Leisure Centre swim session, the chop and swell made it hard to breath on one side. I decided to swim as close to the boat as possible to try and use it as a shield. After what seemed like about 20mins, the cold started seeping deep into my body. I could feel the goose flesh on my arms, and I lost feeling in my feet. I was suffering, but I knew that everyone else had been through this and I couldn't let anyone down. I tried not to look at my watch for as long as possible. After a while, I buckled and saw 47mins. 13mins left. So what do you do think about whilst trying to ignore the cold. Me, I sang songs in my head, from Abba to Robbie Williams. Steff, however recited German poems (which he later sang to us). I have had some pretty awesome finishes in my sporting career,....but nothing will beat, seeing James swim past me to signal the end of my first shift.

OK, now I have to somehow get up the steps, my arms were numb, it felt like I had no feet, and my teeth were constantly clattering together. The guys were waiting for me, towel and clothes. I couldn't even hold the towel, they dried me and put my tracksuit on. I was so cold, I honestly didn't know whether to cry or attempt to talk. Ben gave me a cup of tea, and I spilt 1/2 the cup because I couldn't stop shaking. Rachel and Ben must have thought, look at this Jaapie (South African), he is a mess ! Ben sat on the boat in his costume for about 10mins before deciding to get changed ! I would've stuck my body in a furnace if I could've. By now we could see the CSFB boat in the far distance. Tim was in absolute hysterics when I finally managed to speak, he asked "Will you do this again", and my answer contained 2 words, no guess as to what they were. One of the CSFB support crew guys had done a solo channel swim 2 weeks earlier, and I was in disbelief that someone could swim in that cold water for 12hrs !! It took me 95mins to stop shivering.

By now we started seeing all the ferry's and container ships. Sight of the day was a 500ft barge (which looked like Battersea Power Station) being towed. The skipper ultimately determines the route we take, as they know the shipping channels and currents like we know the contents of a PowerGel. You actually swim in an "S" shape, so you try and go with the current. But if the current turns (after 12/13hrs), you could then end up swimming an extra 4 miles. As the shifts went on, I suffered more and more, and when I thought I had swum for about 40mins, I looked at my watch, and it said "17mins". I will admit it, I started to mumble as if I was about to cry. About a minute later, I shed some tears. Hard to imagine whilst swimming, but I couldn't bear this cold anymore. Quitting has never been an option for me, (my 1st Comrades finish with a torn calf muscle at 43km), is proof. But I really thought that I was going to have to stop and touch the boat, how could I go on for another 40mins. To this day, I don't know how I did it, because I cannot remember anything after looking at my watch. When I got out, the team were awesome, they realised I was the one who was suffering the most. They had the drying/dressing, down to a fine art, like the pit crew in F1 changing tyres.

All we craved was some proper food, you can only eat so many bananas, and because you don't want to throw up whilst swimming, you don't really eat. James was swimming when we got the call to say that CSFB had reached the beach, 12hr 08mins. We were shocked, they were hoping for a much quicker time. We were probably another 90mins away, so the spirits of the team were sky high. We would only lose the swim by maybe 2hrs !! James swam a 5km leg and put his body on the line, we knew he was going to cycle last because of the accumulated time he had done. Luke was ready, knowing that he could get us there if he swam like a demon. And that he did ! After 13hrs 45mins Luke walked onto the French beach, arms aloft, and the horn sounded. I got a lump in my throat, I looked around and there were my team-mates that I had just swum the channel with, awesome. Luke had to then swim the 400m back to the support boat, so that we could then head into Calais port. Tim called Ami to relay a message "Get food and lots of it, the team are hungry"