Cancer affects all of us at some point or another throughout our lives.

Last year in the UK 10,239 men died of prostate cancer.  The majority of prostrate cancer deaths (93%) occur in men aged 65 and over.

300,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in Europe each year. Lowest rates Southern and Eastern Europe. Highest rates are in Scandinavia and Northern Europe

Sweden has the highest prostate cancer rate in Europe, the reason? Age has to be a factor, Swedish men Live longer.  National average 76.5 years where in the UK the national average is 73.2 years.

African /Caribbean men and their descendants are more affected by prostate cancer. More awareness needs to be directed into this community

To find out more about the MCAC clicker here

 

The four of us, Peter Maule, Joe Middleton, Peter Frost and (myself) Simon Backer decided to do our bit and raise money for this worthwhile cause.  The question was what could we do that was so crazy, and so tough that we could hope to raise some serious money.

 

We decided to swim the English Channel and promptly booked it for August 2013 (between the 12 and 20th).  Now everyone 'knows' of the Channel but did you know the following?

- its 21 miles as the crow flies but most will swim 26 miles (thats a marathon)

- only 811 people have swum the Channel since 1875.  By comparison, Mount Everest has been climbed 2,049 times

- there is only a 10% success rate

- the temperature will be around 18 degrees and wetsuits are not allowed - we will be going 'Nearly Naked'

- the average crossing time is 13 hours

 

We knew that this was going be tough and although we are all competent swimmers, with Frosty being a 'Gnutter' and having swum the Channel before along with Peter, Joe and myself had no idea what to expect.

And so, taking the above facts into account, we all agreed to embark on a 2-way!!!  Yes, you read that correctly, a 2-WAY!!!  There and back.  This will be c24hours of non-stop swimming.

Training has picked up already and will increase significantly week on week until we peak in time for our swim.  Our training plans have been devised by Frosty and we have been fortunate enough to be sponsored by Speedo with our kit.

 

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DIG DEEP AND DONATE NOW!!!

 

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