07 Sep 2012Bliss for Bayliss who sets new A2A world record
Mark Bayliss drinks champagne on way to knocking more than five hours off world record for London to Paris triathlon
Mark Bayliss became the world’s fastest person to complete an ultra endurance triathlon from London’s Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday 9 September, writes John Tierney. Bayliss from Croydon was the 11th person to have completed the “Arch 2 Arc” and is the only competitor who has achieved the feat without having donned a wetsuit to swim the English Channel. In accordance with ‘English Channel Rules’ he did not wear a wetsuit during his swim leg of the race across the English Channel.
Organised by Enduroman, the race from Arch to Arc is simple in concept; run from London to Dover, swim to France and then cycle to Paris in the shortest possible time. “There’s no knowledge base for this kind of event” says Bayliss who ran 87 miles, swam 21 miles and cycled 181 miles en route to smashing five hours off the previous best time by a swimmer with a wetsuit. Bayliss took 73 hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds to cover the distance.
Mark finishing his swim
The Arch 2 Arc was first achieved by Eddie Ette in 2001. Six other men and three women have also succeeded. Explaining his motive for taking part, Bayliss said “I do these challenges because I get bored and they just keep getting bigger. The Arch to Arc came about from swimming the Channel and then running the Marathon Des Sables – it’s just putting the two together.”
The 35 year-old Bayliss swam the Channel in 11 hours and 48 minutes, just 16 minutes slower than his solo swim of September 2007. Again, Bayliss teamed up with CS&PF boat pilot Eddie Spelling and his boat ‘Anastasia’ to start from Shakespeare beach. “The swim, I loved it, it was the best bit of the whole event, especially the night-time swimming when it was dark. I loved every second. It was a moonlit night and it was absolutely beautiful. People don’t realise how lovely it is, and then you get to see the sun rise like no one else.”
As for the technicalities, Bayliss reckoned that his swim stroke rate was slow. “It’s usually 50-something (strokes per minute) but I wouldn’t have a clue. I had feed intervals every 45 minutes with Maxim and then alternating with either a banana, mini Wispa or jelly babies.” His feel for the water was such that he needed no company. “I had no swimmers join in with me in the water. I would not even think of it.”
Bayliss had a bubbly French arrival in Cap Gris Nez, France outside the famous La Sirene (The Mermaid) restaurant. “You’ll like this he said. “When I landed at the cap I was greeted by restaurateur Jean François Bouloy giving me a glass of champagne.”
Prior to the swim, Bayliss had to tackle the significant matter of running more than three marathons in succession to get from Marble Arch to Dover. A slippery start at Marble Arch followed by a non-chafing finish was his priority. On his pre-run preparations Bayliss commented that he “had done a lot of Ultras, so I know what happens, so I had a lot of Vaseline going on. It didn’t look too pretty as I was driven up towards Marble Arch with my hand down my trousers.” Bayliss’ approach included running barefoot style with very thin Inuit socks covering each individual toe, then normal running socks and a pair of Inov8 barefoot technology style shoes. “I started my running career in racing flats rather than normal shoes years ago. These shoes suit me down to the ground. I’ve no back problems and no I don’t get injured.”
The first half of Bayliss’ run was at 15 minute mile pace, and after a food break he extended to 18 minutes per mile. The route will remain etched on his memory forever as he mentally reeled off the names; “Marble Arch, Vauxhall, Oval, Peckham, New Cross, Lewisham, Sidcup, Brands Hatch and finally the A20 to Dover.” He had no supporting runner but did have a support car which leapfrogged him after every mile of his run. His modest thoughts of the run were that “the hardest bit was twilight on the morning; everything else was a job to do. I was just getting from A to B.” On reaching Dover and the bust of Capt Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, I asked if he touched the great man’s face and Bayliss responded “at that point all I wanted to do was get some sleep, it had been a long old trot.”
Food consumption for the event was vital and interestingly, Bayliss opted for natural products instead of energy drinks where possible. “Firstly I had a stop about halfway at the Maidstone area, where a couple of hot jacket potatoes and cheese were brought to me. In terms of the general ticking over of the diet going down there, it was rice cakes with strawberry jam, plain bagels with honey, cereal bars, buttered malt loaf and lots of water. Apart from when I was swimming, everything else was real.”
His T1 transition required rest between the run and the swim. “I was asleep by 3pm and awake again at 9pm to get myself sorted for the 2:30am swim. I actually got into the water at 02:50am. Bayliss’ swimming career is impressive. “I’m very much a swimmer first” was how Bayliss qualified which leg of his Arch2Arc triathlon he preferred the most. His recent swimming portfolio includes a hat-trick of Lake Zurich swims from 2008-10, a 2011 English Channel relay and a summer of swimming in Dover harbour. His early years included representing England in the Home Nations water polo matches at under 18 level. He has played water polo for Sutton & Cheam, Portobello, Croydon Amphibians, Jersey and more. “I was always fit so I played more of a sweeper type role, someone who tidied up all the problems.”
His T2 transition involved returning an empty glass of champagne to Monsieur Bouloy and then making his way to the bike start. “We took about an hour to get up to Calais to unload. I grabbed a little bit of kip, then went to a restaurant for mussels, chips and coke and was then on my bike three hours and 22 minutes after finishing my swim.” Bayliss used an American manufactured ParleeTT bike and cycling through the night, arrived in world record time in Paris just before lunchtime.
Despite working a 65 hour week running a transport company, Bayliss made certain plans for the Arch2Arc. “I signed up for this in March 2010 and expected to go on 5 September this year and I did. I had a fair idea of the route but I didn’t rehearse the route at all.” With a height of 1.77metres, Bayliss maintained his steady weight of 93kgs whilst training 15-20 hours weekly. “I use the gym twice a week, and train most evenings and pretty much all weekend. I trained bloody hard for it and it was just completing a job that I expected of myself.” And his form of celebration was a drive to a local restaurant for dinner with his wife Lucinda.
Bayliss’ future plans include the 105 mile Spine running race across Yorkshire’s Pennine Way in January 2013. He will also swim round Jersey in August 2013. “It’s 48 miles to run the loop, but this will be tidal assisted, so very nice.”
To glean some tips and to understand the mindset of the new world record holder, Bayliss said that “I always advise people to be patient, because it will come. Yeah, patience it does work, and to be strong. In terms of training, to be stronger than you have ever been before. Because if your body is not going to break, it’s all down to your mind.”
- 27 Feb 2025
2025 Notice of CS&PF AGM & Motions
Notice of CS&PF AGMFor the year ended 31st December 2024To be held atThe Channel Suite, Leas Cliff HallThe Leas, FolkestoneCT20 2DZ1pm on the 15th March 2025 Officer and committee positions due for election in 2025 President: Mike Ball (nominated by the CS&PF committee)Vice-President: Michael Oram (nominated by the CS&PF committee) The ChairmanThe SecretaryTwo Committee member positionsNotices of Motion Motions:Motion 1) Proposed by Tony Kenyon; seconded by Eddie SpellingThe committee discussed the need to raise the swim administration fees to cover increasing costs. It was agreed to increase the administration fees by £30. A revised CS&PF rule is required to be ratified at the AGM.The following rule revision is proposed to reflect the increased administration fee.Revised RuleCS&PF fees:2026 Administration fees payable with all swim applications. Administration fees cover the costs of running the CS&PF Office and general CS&PF expenses. Applications submitted to the CS&PF Office before the deadline of 30 April will be charged a discounted administration fee of:Solo - £200Relay £240Applications received by the CS&PF Office after 30 April will be deemed to have exceeded the time allowed for postage and will be charged a full fee of:Solo £225Relay £265Motion 2) Proposed by Kevin Murphy; seconded by Tony KenyonThis AGM requests the committee to:i) Institute honorariums for the offices of CS&PF Secretary and CS&PF Treasurer;ii) Consider at what level these honorariums should be set.Motion 3) Proposed by Tony Kenyon, seconded by Kevin MurphyReplace the existing Clause “8 Management paragraph B” of the published CS&PF rules. The current wording was found to be unclear by the committee.Proposed wording:B. President and Vice PresidentThe positions of ‘President’ and ‘Vice President’ shall be nominated by the elected members of the CS&PF Committee. Only the committee nomination for the roles shall be put before the next AGM for ratification.Either or both positions can remain vacant if the committee does not make a nomination, or if a nomination is not ratified by the membership at the next AGM.The Vice President is expected to work in conjunction with the President. When the President completes their term, the Vice President is familiar with the role to step up. A former President is not permitted to be nominated for a future role as Vice President. If ratified at the AGM the appointment of these positions is for three years from the date of ratification. If they are not ratified, the committee will reconsider their nominations at the next committee meeting.The ‘President’ and the ‘Vice President’ shall be considered full members of the CS&PF Committee. They will receive notice and be invited to each committee meeting and be counted in the quorum with full voting rights.The maximum term for both of these positions is two consecutive appointments. Once this maximum term has been reached the incumbent must step aside from that role for at least three years, preferably six (equivalent to two consecutive terms). Eligibility to be considered for subsequent nomination for either role after the maximum term has been reached is at the discretion of the elected members of the CS&PF Committee.At the discretion of the elected members of the CS&PF Committee a retiring President may be given the honorary title of ‘President Emeritus’. This title is used to denote perpetual status of individuals who made significant contributions to the CS&PF.Motion 4) Proposed by Cliff Golding, seconded by Mike BallProposed amendments in red Assessment swims - (solos)All swimmers taking part in a solo swim must complete a self assessment swim of at least 6 hours in open water at a temperature of no more than 61F/16C. Such a swim should be carried out either as a training swim or as an organised event which the committee considers (in its discretion) to be a suitable alternative. In either case, the assessment swim should take place no more than 18 calendar months prior to the 1st June in the year of the application. Winter Swim Assessments. If a swim is registered to take place between 1 November and 30 April, the qualifying temperature for an assessment swim will be 12c or less, or as defined by the pilot.Assessment swims - (relays)All swimmers taking part in a relay swim must complete a self assessment swim of at least 1.5 hours then leave the water for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 1.5 hours at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 16°C. They must then return to the water and swim for 1 more hour in open water also at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 16°C. These two swims should be carried out either as a training swim or as an organised event which the committee considers (in its discretion) to be a suitable alternative. In either case, the assessment swims should take place no more than 18 calendar months prior to the 1st June in the Year of application. If a relay swimmer carries out a training swim, or takes part in an event lasting 4 hours or more at a temperature of no more than 61°F / 61°C, the Committee will consider that a suitable assessment swim for a Channel relay swim.Winter Swim Assessments. If a swim is registered to take place between 1 November and 30 April, the qualifying temperature for an assessment swim will be 12c or less, or as defined by the pilot.Every application for a solo or relay swimmer must complete a Swim Assessment Form available for download from the CS&PF web site and submit this together with supporting proof/ratification of the self-assessment swim or (if an organised event wherein satisfactory participation is a matter of public online record) the website address at which such proof is evident. Voting will be by paper ballot for any contested positions or motions. Read more
Sandettie Lightship Observations
8pm, 23rd February 2025
Water: 46.4 °F (8 °C)
Air: 52.5 °F (11.4 °C)
Wind Speed: 29.9 kn (55.4 km/h)
Wind Direction: SSW (200°)
The CS&PF President, Mike Ball and all the committee are deeply saddened by the passing of Ady Brown.… https://t.co/E17pLxZwgw
2 years ago
