NelSaskan
_Thursday, June 23,1988
NU grad will beat the heat in England
By Nick Hodge
Stafl Reporter
Swimming has long been used as
an escape from hot, dry summer days,
but Lincoln’s Kris Rutford is deter
mined to lake the recreation of swim
ming one step farther.
Rutford plans to leave for Dover.
England on July 23 and attempt to
swim the English Channel.
He will not actually make his at
tempt tocross the channel until some
time between Aug. 5 and Aug. 10.,
which is when the best tide for making
an attempt at swimming the channel
will exist.
The channel is 21 miles w ide from
the point that Rutford will enter the
water, Shakespeare Beach m Eng
land. to vc here he w ill leave it. a point
in Frame that sticks out the farthest.
However, tides and currents push
swimmers in an S-shape. so the actual
distance is between 25 and 30 miles.
To make a legal, rccogni/cd cross
ing of the channel, Rutford had to hire
a boat to guide him across. He also had
to pay a fee of authentication to the
Channel Swimming Association,
which governs all attempted cross
ings made in the channel.
In order for Rutlord \s attempt to be
called successful, he must walk into
the water at Shakespeare Beach,
swim across the channel without
touching his guide boat and walk out
on the shores of France.
Rulford, a 1981 graduate of the
University ofNcbraska-Lincoln and a
former member of the Cornhuskcr
swimming team. said the challenge of
successfully swimming across ihe
channel ha‘s been on his mind lor
years
“I've been swimming competi
tive!) since I was seven years old."
Rutlord said. “It's(the channel) there.
Swimming the channel has alw-avs
been at ihe back ol tm mind.
Rulford's friend Boh Mi/ellc suc
cessfully swam the channel in 1986.
“Bob partly swam the channel on a
dare from myself,” Rulford said.
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“now I’m doing it on my own dare.'
Rutford said he watched Vli/ellc
swim across the channel. He said that
experience will he a big advantage
when he makes his attempt.
“I was with Bob every step of the
way when he did it. Rutford said. It
was a benefit for me to be* along at
Bob’s attempt.”
Rutford began training and map
ping out his workouts tor his i hannel
attempt Sept. I of last year. It was
important for him to make several
lake swims and King swims to gel him
into perfect condition lor the channel,
he said.
Rutford opened his training by
sw imming 50 miles in September and
worked hunsell up to I 10 miles in
December, He said he was forced to
cut back his workouts from January
thru April because of his job as an
accountant.
“I'm a C.P A. and our busiest time
of the year is from January through
ApriI because of taxes, Rutford said,
“so I had to hac k off on my training.”
Follow ing the tax season Rutford
sped up his training and has since
scheduled himself to sw im 135 miles
in June. As his workouts have pro
gressed, he has made four four-hour
swims and one five-hour swim at
Branched Oak Lake. He plans to
make a 12-hour swim Saturday.
Rutford said he hopes his sw im at
Branched Oak will he similar to a
channel swim, except the water tem
perature will be 20-degrces warmer
than the channels’ 5X- to 60-dcgrcc
temperature.
Rutford said the actual attempt at
swimming the channel should take
him anywhere from 10 to 20 hours to
complete.
“It'll take 10 to 20 hours depend
ing on ihe weather, reaction to the
water, tides and things I have no
control over.' Ruilord said
To combat the cold w ater tempera
ture ol the channel, Ruilord has been
forced to gain body weight, he said.
“I've had to put on about 15 to 20
pounds to get hea\ icr for some insula
tion because the water is so cold,”
Rutford said.
Ruilord plans on having about 10
days in England to complete his train
ing and preparations before actually
making his attempt. Wind and rough
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water are major factors in making a
successful crossing, he said.
“I'll use those 10 or so days while
I ’ m over there to get acclimated to the
cold water, as well as the type of water
before I make my attempt,” Rutford
said.
Last year, 30 swimmers success
fully made their attempts at crossing
the c hannel. There have been 3 3() solo
crossings in the history of the channel.
Rutford said his swimmingcxpcri
ence should be to his advantage in
attempting to complete his crossing.
“I'm an experienced sw inunerso 1
have one leather in my hat." Ration!
said.
The channel does possess several
Uilii^A IMUIIIUX v> IIU JIK Nipt u> S\\ nil
across it. Ii is one of the busier ship
ping lanes in the world wuh si>me S(*i'
ships passing through the channel
every day. There is a chance that
jellyfish could sling swimmers a'
they make their w ay across. The cold
water temperature may also cause
swimmers to be overcome with hy
pothermia.
Another threat is that swimmers
might be affected by the sea water.
The highly concentrated water could
cause the swimmers to vomit, or swell
their eyes and throat shut.
Rutford said he will wear eye
goggles and a full body swim suit to
enable him to better protect himself
from the water’s elements.
Rutford said mental training prior
to a channel attempt is almost as
important as the physical prepara
tions.
“Preparation by imagination and
visualization is really important.'
Rutford said. “It’s a mental thing.
You have to concentrate and keep
your mind on what you’re doing.
“You can’t think about how coldor
bad the water is. My experience ol
mentally preparing for big events
while I was a swimmer at Nebraska
should really help.”
Campus Rec Office
needs instructors
Vicki Highstrcel, the Coordinator
of Wellness and Instructional Sports,
said the Office of Campus Recreation
is looking for instructors to teaih a
number of classes in the fall semester.
The onlv remiirement is the candidate
must have current certification in
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and
first-aid.
Water aerobics, low-impact aero
bics, beginning aerobics, intermedi
ate aerobics and firmer body classes
will be offered. Other classes, such as
yoga, may also be offered, Highstrcet
said.
Anyone interested should contact
the Office of Campus Recreation.
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