Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STROKE OF PLUCK
Ross aims to swim around whole mainland of Britain
ENDURANCE athlete Ross Edgley aims to become the first person to swim 2,000 miles around Britain.
Ross, 32, leaves from Margate in Kent tomorrow and will not set foot on dry land for 100 days.
Eating and sleeping on a support boat, he will travel clockwise, swimming 30km to 50km a day in six-hour shifts, aiming to finish at Tower Bridge in London in September.
He said: “People may look at this and think, why? But I look at it and just think, if I complete it this could be the greatest achievement of my life.”
Ross, of Grantham, Lincs, has already run a marathon pulling a Mini, rope-climbed the height of Everest and did a triathlon hauling a
45kg log on his back.
But he said: “Without question, this is the toughest thing I have ever done.” Only one man has ever swum from Land’s End to John O’groats – just half the distance.
Ross will have to take in 1.5 million calories in his 100-day challenge to fuel 40,000 strokes a day. But he could struggle to eat if the seawater makes his tongue and throat swell up. He said: “We might have to start liquidising foods.”
Jellyfish stings are a worry. He said: “I won’t shave. The face is most exposed, so any protection, like a big beard, will help.”
Follow Ross’s challenge at redbull.co.uk/greatbritishswim