Adventure Tech: Garmin Fenix 2 GPS Watch

The battle for your wrist is about to get a lot more interesting.

In March, Garmin will be shipping the much anticipated Fenix 2 GPS fitness and adventure watch. This latest entry into what is becoming quite a crowded market, takes all of the great features from the original Fenix and amps them up a notch, giving outdoor enthusiasts everything they could hope for in a training timepiece – and then some.

Like is predecessor, the Fenix 2 is ruggedized for the outdoors, including being waterproof down to 50 meters. As you would expect, it comes with an altimeter, barometer, a 3-axis compass and built in GPS tracking for navigation. That includes 10,000 track points and 1000 way points. It has sun and moon charts built in, a hunting and fishing calendar, dual timezones, and a host of of time keeping options. It also features ANT+ integration to connect with heart rate monitors and other devices as well.

But, the Fenix 2 brings some interesting new features to the table as well. For starters, it has onboard Bluetooth functionality that allows it to be paired with a smartphone for tracking data. A new Ski-Board mode is designed to specifically track movements both horizontally and vertically, while an improved battery will offer up to 50 hours of use in GPS mode, and five weeks while being used as a standard watch. Improved swim and bike modes make it a better option for triathletes as well, while still managing to bring more options to the table for runners too. If that wasn't enough, the Fenix 2 will even serve as a remote control for Garmin's VIRB action camera.


Perhaps most importantly of all, Garmin has made the watch's interface far more intuitive to use. The original Fenix could be a bit confusing at times, but this time the OS has been tweaked to make everything more accessible. This really helps when all you want to do is get moving, rather than standing around waiting to get your watch in the right mode.

When it ships next month, the Fenix 2 will carry a price tag of $399 for the standard model and $449 with a heart rate monitor. Those are the same price points that the original Fenix launched at as well. At the moment, it looks like a very promising new entry into the GPS watch category, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about how well it performs.

This news comes at the height of my frustration with my Suunto Ambit, one of the main competitors to the Fenix. Last week, after charging my Ambit I put it on and set off for a trail run. When I went to start my GPS tracking, the face was completely blank, although touching the buttons emitted a beep as it would when it was functioning normally. After returning from the run, I plugged it into my computer, where it was immediately recognized, but still there was nothing appearing on the screen.

I dropped Suunto a tech support know to inquire as to how I should proceed, and I was informed that I'd have to drain the battery, then let it charge for five hours straight to correct the problem. I'll have to take their word for it, because now that the battery if fully charged, I'll need to wait a month before it is drained again. In GPS mode, I could drain it very quickly but I can't access that without being able to see the screen. So, my $500 GPS watch is essentially useless for the next month until the battery drains on its own, and then I have to hope that recharging it will get the screen working again. To say that I am not pleased to be able to use my watch for the next several weeks is an understatement. Perhaps the Fenix 2 will be a viable option for a replacement.

Adventurer To Attempt To Swim Around Ireland

In my opinion, there are very few tests of endurance as grueling as a long distance swim. Spending hours in the water, generally isolated and alone, even with a support team, can be a mentally and

physically exhausting experience. Long distance swimmers burn calories quickly and are usually hungry and bordering on dehydration most of the time. It is a very tough activity, even for the hardiest of individuals, which is why I have enormous respect for those who take on such a challenge. Later this year, adventurer Ripley Davenport will attempt just such an undertaking when he will try to become the first person to swim around Ireland, covering a distance of roughly 850 miles (1367 km) in the process. 

The circumnavigation swim isn't set to get underway until sometime this summer, but the official website for the round Ireland swim is now online. Ripley says that he'll be swimming clockwise around the island country, starting at Derrynane, County Kerry. His route will take him out into the Atlantic Ocean before moving around the crown of Northern Ireland, through the Northern Channel, and turning south into the Irish Sea. From there, he'll swim across the Saint George Channel and into the Celtic Channel, as he once again returns to the Atlantic, and back to his starting location.

A support team will shadow Ripley aboard a yacht while he makes his swim and a paddler in a kayak will be close at hand at all times. Davenport will be in a wetsuit to help protect him from the chilling waters he'll face along the way and he'll carry a GPS tracker so we can all follow along with his progress as well. In preparation for the full journey, he also plans to make a 30-mile (48 km) open water swim in May as a prelude to the start of the challenge. 

Ripley will undertake his swim around Ireland in an effort to raise funds and awareness for MS Ireland, an organization that supports those suffering with Multiple Sclerosis in that country. Davenport was diagnosed with the disease back in 2011 and yet he continues to seek adventure at every opportunity. Being able to complete this swim will be an epic undertaking and a way of demonstrating that those with MS can still accomplish great things.

Good luck to Ripley. We'll be following along later this year. 

Diana Nyad Completes Cuba To Florida Swim

It has been big news – especially here in the U.S. – since yesterday but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Diana Nyad's amazing swim here on the Adventure Blog. On Monday, the 64-year old Nyad became the first person to complete a swim from Cuba to Florida, covering the 110-miles of open ocean in about 53 hours. The epic endeavor began on Saturday at the seawall on Hemingway Harbor in Havana and ended yesterday on the beach in Key West, Florida, where she was greeted by a crowd of onlookers who had gathered to welcome her.

Obviously this is an amazing display of human endurance but in more ways than you might imagine. Swimming for 53 hours straight is incredibly demanding to say the least, as Nyad never left the water once she got underway. She did stop from time to time to get food and water, but for the most part she just kept on pushing forward. But if you know anything about her story, you know that is the way Diana operates. She has been pursuing the dream of swimming from Cuba to the U.S. for 35 years, first making the attempt back in 1978. That attempt was a failure but the idea of completing this challenge never strayed far from her thoughts. In 2011 she revived her plan for making the swim and over the past two years she tried three more times before finally finding success yesterday.

Diana can be an inspiration to us all on a number of levels. Obviously she is quite the endurance athlete and her focus on completing this swim tells us a lot about her determination and toughness. But her ability to grab onto a dream and pursue it until it is done is another aspect of her personality that I find amazing. The Cuba-to-Florida swim was her Everest and she didn't give up on reaching the summit. There is a lesson in that for all of us for sure.

Congratulations to Diana on finally reaching her goal. What an amazing achievement.

Endurance Athlete To Swim Length Of Britain

Have any plans for the weekend? Maybe sleep in? Catch a little of the Tour de France on the telly? If you're feeling particularly energetic you might even take a little evening stroll around the block? If that is your plan I'm about to make you feel very bad about your life choices.

On Sunday, endurance athlete Sean Conway will begin an epic swim that will run the entire length of Britain. He'll start at the aptly named Land's End in the south and will proceed to swim north, passing Devon before crossing over to Wales along the West Coast. After that, it is onto the Isle of Man before proceeding to Scotland, where he'll continue north until he reaches the distant village of John O'Groats. If successful, he'll cover approximately 1000 miles (1609 km) along the way.

Of course, swimming a thousand miles in a swimming pool would be tough, but Sean will be doing it in an ocean. He'll have to battle turbulent waters, rough waves, cold temperatures and Britain's notoriously bad weather.  That can take a hefty toll on the body to say the least, particularly when it happens day-in and day-out. He estimates that it will take a minimum of nine weeks to cover the distance, swimming eight hours per day, every day of the week. He also believes he'll burn roughly 800 calories per hour, which will make it extremely tough to maintain weight and keep energy levels high. Fortunately he has been training for this incredible challenge for some time.

Sean has decided to take on this swim in an effort to raise funds for War Child, a non-profit dedicated to helping protect children from the effects of conflicts, and help them recover from war, in some of the most dangerous countries in the world. He hopes to raise as much money as possible through his efforts on the water.

If successful, Sean will be the first person to swim the entire length of Britain. There aren't many people who have managed to swim this kind of distance before, so in order to get some advice, he visited his friend Dave Cornthwaite prior to setting out. You may recall that Dave swam more than 1000 m iles down the Missouri River last year, so of course he had some thoughts on Sean's endeavor. You can see the two adventurers comparing notes in the very funny video below.

Good luck Sean!

Adventure Tech: TomTom Announces Line Of GPS Fitness Watches

TomTom, a company that is well known for its GPS devices, has announced that it is throwing its hat into the GPS fitness watch arena. The watches will come in two different models including one specifically designed for runners and the other for multi-sport athletes.

Both versions of the watch will feature large screens that are designed to be easy to read even while on the go. An innovative single-button control will make it easy to navigate through menus and options too. Each of these watches has the ability to track runs both indoors and outdoors and can sync and share that data through a variety of popular fitness websites. TomTom promises an ultra-slim design that will be comfortable to wear on just about any wrist and Bluetooth technology will link the watches to optional accessories such as heart rate monitors or a cadence speed sensor on a bike. The multisport model will also feature a built-in swim sensor for tracking laps and will come with a dedicated handlebar mount for cycling.

According to the press release from TomTom, these new watches will also include QuickGPSFix technology which allows them to connect to satellites faster so you can get started on your workout sooner. The company also says that data stored on the watch can be imported into social fitness sites such as MapMyFitness, RunKeeper, TrainingPeaks, MyFitnessPal and their very own TomTom MySports website. Battery life is reportedly about 10 hours, which is a little low when compared to some of the competition, but we'll see how well it actually performs after its released.

The two watches will be released this summer and while there are no prices announced yet, TomTom says that they will be competitive with similar watches from other companies.

To find out more, and sign up to get more information as it becomes available, click here.

Swim1000 The Film: Following Dave Cornthwaite Down The Missouri River

One of the most inspiring expeditions we followed last year was Dave Cornthwaite's 1000-mile swim down the Missouri River. It was the latest phase of his Expedition 1000 project, during which Dave is undertaking 25 separate journeys, each of 1000 miles or more in length, without the use of motorized transportation. In the past, he's done such things as skateboarding 3618 miles (5822 km) across Australia and stand-up paddleboarding along the length of the Mississippi River.

While each of those expeditions were challenging in their own right, nothing prepared Dave for the challenges he would face on the Missouri River. Day-in and day-out, for 58 days, he dove into the murky waters of the Missouri to swim 12+ hours per day in order to cover the 1001 miles between Chamberlain, South Dakota and St. Louis, Missouri, where he eventually pulled himself out of the river for good at the famous Gateway Arch.

Much of Dave's journey was captured by filmmaker Miguel Endara, who has now put together an amazing 8-minute short film of the Swim1000 expedition. That film gives us a very personal look at the journey down the Missouri, which took a physical and mental toll on our intrepid adventurer, who was shadowed by a support team that paddled along the entire way. To watch the video click here.

And when you're done enjoying Miguel's wonderful short film, read about Dave's fund raising efforts for CoppaFeel, an organization dedicated to the prevention of breast cancer through early detection. A cause that we can all agree is a worthy one.

Expedition Debrief: 1001 Miles Down The Missouri River

Adventurer Dave Cornthwaite has faced his share of challenges while pursuing his Expedition 1000 project, in which he is attempting to complete 25 non-motorized journeys of a thousand miles or more. For instance, he once spent 156 days skateboarding across Australia and another 82 days stand-up paddle boarding the length of the Mississippi River. But last summer he undertook his most challenging expedition to date, 1001-mile swim along the Missouri River. During that time, we followed Dave's progress closely, getting regular updates from his support team and cheering him along. But over the course of that 58-day excursion we rarely heard from the man himself, so we never really got a sense of just how difficult the swim was. That is, until now.

Dave has posted a debrief of his Missouri swim and it puts the reality of his undertaking into grim perspective. In the article, he talks about the physical toll that this journey took on his body, getting to the point in the final days where he couldn't keep food down, despite the fact that he was burning 6000 calories per day. Swimming from sunrise to sunset, day in and day out, sapped his strength and spirit, pushing him to the very edge of his limits. It is a very personal account of a person who is completely at the end of their rope, but refuses to give up on his dream.

Reading Dave's account of those final few miles to the finish line are not easy. He clearly had pushed himself further than even he thought possible and yet as he neared the end at last, it still wasn't nearly enough. Of course, we know that he did manage to complete the swim, but Dave describes the days that followed as "darker than any other post-expedition experience I care to remember." No doubt, that was the result of complete physical and mental exhaustion he felt at its completion.

Now that some time has passed, Dave's attention has turned to the next phase of Expedition 1000 – a 3000-mile (4828 km) journey around Europe on ElliptiGO bicycles. While this is a completely different kind of mode of travel, I'm sure he'll take with him some lessons from the Missouri River.

If you want to know just what an ordeal that swim was for him, then his blog post is a must read. It will definitely give you even more respect for what Dave, and other adventurers like him, have accomplished.

Swim 1000 Update: Dave Is Done!!

Over the past two months we've been following Dave Cornthwaite on the latest leg of his Expedition 1000 project which he dubbed Swim 1000. That journey began in Chamberlain, South Dakota in early August where Dave plunged into the Missouri River and proceeded to swim down stream. This past Saturday he reached the finish line in the shadow of the famous Gateway Arch of St. Louis

Dave wasn't alone on his fantastic aquatic adventure and he'll be the first to tell you it wouldn't have been possible with out the help of his friends and support crew who followed along in kayaks and on stand-up paddleboards. They made the entire 1000 mile journey as well, which is certainly not to be overlooked in the amazing accomplishment of Dave's swim. Congratulations o the whole team on a job well done.

When he pulled himself out of the water in St. Louis on Saturday, Dave's official mileage total stood at 1005. That's an incredible distance to swim in such a relatively short time span and in order to keep up the pace he was consuming as much as 6000 calories per day. He also had to deal with high winds, the occasional storms and increasingly cooler temperatures.

Of course, the project wasn't just about taking a long swim in a muddy river. Dave and his team were also raising funds and awareness for Coppafeel, an organization dedicated to improving awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Definitely an important and worthy cause.

Dave will now take the remainder of the year for a much deserved rest while he plans his next adventures for 2013. He is also booking speaking engagements throughout the U.S. and if you're interested in having him speak in your area you can find out how to contact him here.

Well done mate! Hope you've enjoyed a few pints since finishing up!

Swim 1000 Update: The End In Sight

It has been a few weeks since I posted an update on the progress of Dave Cornthwaite and his attempt to swim 1000 miles down the Missouri River. The journey began back in early August when Dave plunged into the water near Chamberlain, South Dakota with the plan of making his way down river to St. Louis. Now, nearly two months later, he is nearing the finish line at last.

Dave calls his little dip in the water Swim 1000 and it is part of his much larger Expedition 1000 project in which he is attempting to complete 25 separate journeys of 1000 miles or more without the use of motorized transportation. Of course, he's also doing it to raise funds for charity with a stated goal of earning £1,000,000 ($1.6 million) for his favorite causes. Currently those efforts are being aimed at the Coppafeel organization.

Since we last checked in with Dave, he and his support crew, who are following along in kayaks and on stand-up paddleboards, have been enjoying the hospitality of those that live in America's heartland while proceeding down the river. They've been blogging their journey as they go and it has been interesting to read the accounts of their day-to-day struggles. Today's entry is particularly interesting as it talks about what it takes to fuel a swimmer who is traveling 1000 miles along a river. In order to stay properly fueled, Dave is consuming more than 6000 calories per day, which seems like a lot of course, until you realize that he's spending around 10 hours each day in the water. That is a lot of energy burned!

Dave has now swum more than 800 miles and he's eying a finish in St. Louis on this coming Saturday. Keep an eye out on his website to find out where they plan to complete the journey and if you're in the neighborhood, head on by to say hello. In the meantime, checkout this great video from the early stages of the swim. It'll give you an idea of what it has been like for the past two months.

Swim 1000 Update: Going With The Flow

It has been a couple of weeks since we last checked in with Dave Cornthwaite and his team. You may recall that Dave has launched the latest leg of his Expedition 1000 project, in which he is undertaking 25 separate journeys of at least 1000 miles (1609km), each without the use of motorized transportation. Currently he is attempting to swim 1000 miles down the Missouri River while a group of friends, serving as his support crew, join him on stand-up paddle boards and kayaks.

This past weekend, Dave and company reached a significant milestone. Not only have they now completed more than a quarter of their journey but the also reached Sioux City, Iowa where they were able to take a rest day. After covering 41 miles (66km) the day before, I'd say that day off was most certainly well earned. The team took the opportunity to relax and resupply before returning to the water yesterday. According to Dave's Twitter account, that return to the river wasn't a good one however as high winds kept progress to a minimum.

The expedition began back in early August when Dave plunged into the Missouri River near Chamberlain, South Dakota. At that time he expected the entire swim to take approximately 50 days to complete, which would wrap it up near the end of the month. At the moment it appears that the team is a bit behind schedule however, so we'll have to wait to see if Dave is actually able to reach the finish line in St. Louis, Missouri as planned. A recent update to the Swim 1000 Blog indicates that they are expecting the speed of the river to pick-up soon however, which should aid their cause immensely.

While Dave is undertaking this thousand mile swim for the adventure he also is hoping to raise money for a charity along the way. For this leg of the Expedition 1000 project he has dedicated his efforts to raising funds for the CoppaFeel organization, a non-proft dedicated to improving the chances of the early detection of breast cancer. To find out more about CoppaFeel and how you can help, click here.

Swim 1000 Update: 11 Days In, Still Swimming!

Dave Cornthwaite's Swim1000 expedition is proceeding – dare I say it – swimmingly. (I think I just heard a million Internet groans. Sorry folks, couldn't resist!) The team is now on their 11th day on the water and making solid progress as they proceed for 1000 miles (1609km) down the Missouri River from Chamberlain, South Dakota to St. Louis, Missouri. Dave is swimming the entire distance of course, but he's joined by a number of close friends who are paddling (stand-up or canoe) along with him.

Judging from the updates that have been posted to the Swim1000 blog, it seems that everyone is enjoying their time on the river. Not only are they getting the opportunity to experience an aquatic adventure, they're also meeting interesting and friendly people along the way. I have to imagine that the expedition team gets a few looks as they pass by on the water as well. After all, it's not often that you see a troupe of stand-up paddlers and one swimmer, go past.

As I mentioned in my previous story on Swim1000, Dave and his friends are hoping to raise funds for the CoppaFeel organization, a non-profit that is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer. A message they are spreading as they travel down river.

The video below gives you an idea of what Dave and the rest of his motley crew are up to on the Missouri. If you live along the river, keep an eye out for them. They expect to be out there for another 40 days or so.

Swim 1000: A Thousand Miles Down The Missouri River

British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite has launched the next leg of his Expedition 1000 project which has him undertaking 25 separate journeys of at least 1000 miles (1609km) in length without the use of motorized transportation of any kind. Past adventures have includes a 3638 mile (5854 km) crossing of Australia on a skateboard and a 2404 mile (3868 km) journey down the Mississippi River on a stand-up paddleboard. Dave's latest challenge is a 1000 mile swim down the Missouri River.

The Swim 1000, as Dave is calling his little dip in the river, got underway last Friday when he dove into the Missouri for the first time near Chamberlain, South Dakota. He'll now proceed down stream to St. Louis, Missouri at a pace of roughly 20 miles a day. That means that he expects to complete the swim in approximately 50 days or about the end of September.

Originally Dave had planned to make this journey a solo effort, pulling a raft with his gear and supplies behind him as he went. But he managed to convince several friends to join him on the expedition and now it is a complete river caravan making its way down river toward St. Louis. Dave is the only member of the group who is swimming the entire length, while others will stand-up paddleboard or use a canoe to cover the 1000 mile stretch of the Missouri. Updates are already being posted to the expedition blog, including audio dispatches, and Dave's Twitter feed has some great images for the river as well.

Being a generous sort of fellow, Dave is always trying to uses his adventures to raise funds for charity. In this case, he is hoping to generate £100,000 ($157,000) for CoppaFeel, an organization dedicated to educating women about the importance of early detection of breast cancer in an effort to stamp out that awful disease.

Good luck to Dave and the entire crew. Have fun on the water and stay safe out there.

Brit Intends To Swim Across The Atlantic In 100 Days

British television personality and adventurer Ben Fogel has announced his plans to swim across the Atlantic Ocean and he intends to do it in record time. Fogel, who has also visited the South Pole and spent a year as a castaway on a Scottish island as part of a reality television show, says that he hopes to make the 3000 mile (4828km) journey in just 100 days.

The epic swim isn't scheduled to begin until next year, and Bogel has only now started to train in open water. But sometime in 2013 he intends to set out from the U.S. and continue swimming until he reaches cornwall in the U.K. In order to cover that distance in his target time, he'll need to average about 30 miles (48km) per day. He estimates he may need to spend as much as 12 hours per day in the water.

To date, only one other person is credited with swimming across the Atlantic. That was Benoit Lecomte who accomplished that feat back in 1998. There are some questions about the legitimacy of Lecomte's claims however as he his efforts were not strictly tracked by GPS. He did finish the swim in 73 days and went 3716 miles (5980km) in the process. He is also planning on swimming across the Pacific as well.

Also ramping up his efforts to swim the Atlantic is Dan Martin, who will attempt it as part of his Global Triathlon. He is expecting his crossing of the ocean to take upwards of six months and he'll be starting in the Hudson River and ending somewhere along the coast of France. He is currently in the States and preparing to begin his massive undertaking, which will also see him cycling and running around the world. Logistics have delayed the start, but he hopes to be underway very shortly.

Sometimes rowing an ocean isn't enough I guess, and you just have to jump in an start swimming. More power to these guys. I can't even imagine the effort required to swim these distances day in and day out.

Thanks To Julian Monroe Fisher for the tips on Ben's swim!

The Global Triathlon: Swimming, Cycling, and Running Around The Globe

Remember last year when we were all in awe of Charlie Wittmack and his World Tri? For those that don't recall, Charlie's "triathlon" consisted of him swimming across the English Channel, then riding his bike to India, before proceeding on foot to Tibet where he scaled Everest for the second time. He faced a lot of hardships along the way, but eventually he managed to cover all 16,000km (10,000 miles) to accomplish his goal.

This year, endurance athlete Dan Martin will take the concept one step further. Dan will embark on his Global Triathlon in May and will swim, cycle, and run his way around the globe. The adventure will begin in New York City where Martin will dive into the Hudson River and begin a 5700km (3541 mile) swim across the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, Dan is beginning the triathlon in the traditional way, but like everything else on this event, his swim just happens to be much longer.

He expects that swim to take upwards of four to six months to complete and plans on ending in France, where he'll climb onto his bike and start riding east. He'll then follow the Trans Siberian Express, in winter no less, across Europe and Asia before arriving in Anadyr in the far eastern portion of Russia. From there, he'll hop across the Bering Sea to Uelen, Alaska and start a 5200km (3000 mile) trek across North America, ending back in New York where he started.

It is a very ambitious project to say the least and it should be interesting to follow along with Dan's progress. The fact that he is swimming an ocean is intriguing as well, especially in light of Ben Lecomte's efforts to swim across the Pacific, which will get underway in April.

Good luck to Dan on this excursion and thanks to Tim for sharing the Global Tri with me in the comments yesterday.

One Record Setting Swim Complete, Another Prepares To Begin

While we're on the subject of aquatic adventures today I had a couple of stories about some epic swims cross my desk in the past day or two. The first of which is a team of South African relay swimmers who set a world record by swimming 350km (217 miles) in 106 hours. That's a very impressive feat considering that adds up to nearly 4.5 days in the water.

The team, which consisted of Russell Tucker, Greg Tucker, SanMari Woithe, JC van Wyk, Brenton Williams and Ralph West, took turns swimming 3.1km (1.9 mile) laps in the Marina Martinique at Jeffreys Bay. They began their record setting swim last Wednesday and finished up over the weekend after continuing non-stop, day and night, through rain, wind and electrical storms for much of that time. At night they were accompanied by paddlers who stayed close to ensure their safety.

Congrats to the team for completing this epic swim. The grind that they had to have felt over the course of those days must have been incredible. Swimming lap after lap, even as part of a relay team, takes a great deal of endurance and I have a lot of respect for these athletes.

One athlete who is ramping up for an epic swim of his own is Ben Lecomte. In April he is planning on embarking on a solo-swim across the Pacific Ocean that will begin in Tokyo and end in San Francisco. Outside Online has a good article today about Ben's quest, which will cover more than 8850km (5500 miles) of open water. He expects to be in the water eight hours a day, averaging roughly 64km (40 miles) per day. At that pace, it will take him five months to complete the crossing.

Lecomte, who once swam across the Atlantic Ocean, will use a GPS device to keep track of his position at any given time. That will ensure that he begins his swim at the correct spot each day as he'll spend nights resting aboard a sailboat. That rigid tracking will allow us to follow his progress but is also a requirement for Guinness to officially recognize his achievement.

While he'll have to deal with the physical demands of the swim, not to mention potential shark encounters, Outside notes, Ben's biggest concern could be getting enough food. It is estimated that he'll burn in excess of 8000 calories per day and it can actually get to be tiresome to consume enough food over weeks of that kind of exertion.

Just reading about either of these long-distance swimming events makes me tired.