Lancaster vets to take on mammoth cross-channel challenge for charity
A team of athletes is undertaking a 48-hour charity challenge which will see them cross the English Channel.
The Enduroman Arch to Arc Challenge leaves Marble Arch in London for a 120k run to Dover, followed by a 33k channel swim (without wetsuits) and finishing with a 290k cycle ride from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in the centre of Paris.
Finbarr O’Sullivan-Greene, director and veterinary surgeon at Farm Gate Vets in Wyresdale Road, will be joined by team mates Kathrine Muller Jones and Sarah Harper as well as three other athletes making up a group of six who are raising funds for spinal health charity Aspire.
Weather depending, they aim to set off early tomorrow morning, Friday September 4.
Finbarr said: “About 18 months ago Kathrine, Sarah and I signed up to take part in an Enduroman Arch to Arc relay triathlon raising money for Aspire, a charity who support people with spinal injuries.
"Aspire has fundraised for a number of years through channel swimming which is where Sarah, who is a personal trainer working in Kendal – SJPT, came across the group by successfully completing a relay channel swim in 2020.
"Sarah recruited Kathrine and I, both vets working locally at Farm Gate Vets. The charity put us together with three other athletes, Jamie, Dave and Ollie, who come from Bristol and London, and the six of us have trained over the past months as team "Narwhal" to take on this challenge.
"Although the charity has vast experience in supporting people with channel swimming, this year is the charity's second attempt at an Arch to Arc crossing.
"Training involved multiple trips to Dover including cold water tolerance tests where we had to sea swim for an hour and a half, warm up for an hour, before going back in for another hour without wetsuits in water at 13C."
During the challenge, each athlete will do parts of each section in relay fashion rotating around the group with an hour on and five off, repeating this over approximately 48 hours until they reach Paris.
“One of the biggest obstacles in preparing for a challenge like this is the uncertainty on when it takes place,” Finbarr said. “Start times are dictated by weather and tide patterns in the channel making planning the final stages of training a real challenge.
"However, the weather is being kind, and we have now received our starting orders. Our swim window starts this Saturday at 1am so we will start the run on Friday at 4am.
“The thing that has blown us away is the generosity and support that we have received while fundraising for Aspire. In May Kathrine, Sarah and I held a promise auction raising over £13,000 for the cause.
"As things currently stand the six of us have raised over £27,000 and are well on track to match or exceed the previous relay group's total of £41,000.
"Aspire is a charity that hopes you’ve never heard of it. Every four hours, someone in the UK is paralysed. It can happen to anyone at any time and changes lives in an instant.
"Aspire is there to support the 40,000 people living with a spinal cord injury in the UK – whether through awarding grants for invaluable equipment, providing short-term fully accessible properties or giving advice on welfare benefits.
"In short, Aspire works tirelessly to give those who have suffered spinal cord injury the support they need to live an independent life again.”
If anyone wants to follow the team’s progress, they will be posting photos, videos and updates to https://www.geotracks.co.uk/live/5868
Their JustGiving page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/page/aspire-narwhals-arch2arc-2026