Ben Beard is on a quest to help others by swimming the English Channel

Ben Beard is on a quest to help others by swimming the English Channel

Right now, 35-year-old Ben Beard of Las Cruces, NM is busy running his home building and sales business while also intensively preparing for the challenge of a lifetime. Beard is raising money to help young people fulfill their educational and business potential and will bravely swim the English Channel to benefit the Grant Cardone Foundation. Impressed and excited to see how the businessman and father of four prepares for such an epic challenge, M&F delved deep into his motivation and training ahead of this ultimate test of strength and endurance.

Swimming across the English Channel is no easy task. The narrow, 20-mile (32 kilometer) stretch of water between the southern coast of England and the northern edge of France endures changeable weather and therefore completion times vary widely due to each athlete's own ability and the unpredictable environment they must contend with. However, the average swimming time is 13 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds, while Australian Trent Grimsey has held a record of 6 hours and 55 minutes since 2012.

So the first question is simple: What motivates a professional like Beard to throw himself into the deep end like this? "I first read Grant Cardone's books; 'The 10X Rule' and 'Be Obsessed or Be Average' in 2017," he says. "At the time, I was preparing to start my business; Red Cliff Homes. I had approached a few property sellers with a small idea to get my business off the ground. Then, after their lukewarm reception, I realized I might need to go bigger to get the deal for "To make them more attractive, so I literally followed the teachings I had read and multiplied the pitch by 10. This led to me starting my own business in the home building business and allowed me to grow quickly, closing 27 homes in my first year in business."

After receiving so much insight from the Grant Cardone Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide career advice and educational resources, particularly to young and vulnerable people, Beard felt compelled to pay it forward and set a goal of raising $50,000 for the cause. That's how he went from land developer to long-distance swimmer.

Rekindle old passions

Ben Beard chose to swim the English Channel in part to rekindle an old passion. Well, they say you should follow your inner compass! He started swimming in high school, where he wasn't initially a fan of distance swimming, but after sticking with it and keeping a toe in throughout college, Beard realized that not only was getting in the water a great way to stay physically in shape, as he also felt a number of mental benefits. “I enjoy the opportunity to shut out the world and just swim,” he says. "It's like meditation for me, with the opportunity to clear my head while I work my body to the point of exhaustion. Cold water adds to the head-clearing aspect of swimming and also tends to make me hyper-aware of my body, allowing me to focus on which muscles are sore and slight changes in internal temperature that my body goes through during long periods of swimming."

Through his recent training, Beard has learned that swimming the Channel is not just a physical challenge, noting that it is also “about mental strength to withstand the cold, the monotony and the loneliness.”

Enter hours

The entrepreneur will not swing to the English Channel unprepared and has been training for 3 years to achieve this swim despite the demands of a hectic day job. Long distance swimming requires great endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. “I keep a running total of hours swum in my planner every month to make sure I stay on track with my training goals,” he says. "I've been traveling a lot for work over the last few months, so when traveling on work I've had to look out for swimming options in advance. Many gyms offer a short trial period, which has been very helpful, and the city's local leisure facilities are also great places to work out most of the time. I also bring running clothes with me so I can run when I can't swim. Last week I ran into bad weather while flying and ended up having an unexpected 7 hour layover. Arriving late that evening meant I was ahead of my swim I couldn't swim at the work meeting, so I changed in the airport bathroom, found a private spot to put my bags, and went for a 2-mile run in the airport!”

Make the weight

“After I signed up, I learned that marathon swimming is not a six-pack, muscle-pulling sport,” Beard says. "Most successful Channel swimmers are quite heavy, and those who are not often have to gain weight to withstand the cold water temperatures - probably around 60 F at the time of my swim. So I've been gaining weight on purpose over the last year."

Since Beard swims a lot in his training, he burns a lot of calories, so gaining weight is a challenge. He counteracts this with “calorie-preserving” meals after a long swim. He also needs to figure out what he will eat during his English Channel swim to maintain energy levels. As he takes on the challenge, Beard will have a boat pilot and team to keep him fed. These feeds can vary depending on individual tastes, and some swimmers choose liquid supplements, but the main thing is that the feed is easy to grab and consume. "Over the last few months I've been experimenting with different foods for my 'feeding' while swimming," he says. "I chose fried black beans with lots of butter and high-calorie mashed potatoes, both sucked out of pouches like those intended for feeding a baby. Potatoes are very high in potassium, and with the mix of beans and potatoes I have a combination of protein and slower burning, longer lasting carbohydrates. I'll also have a small Add chocolate bars for those short, quick bursts of sugar when I really need it. During exercise, I drink a mix of plain water and electrolyte drinks, but during channel swimming, electrolytes aren't as important because I'm surrounded by salt water, so I drink hot chocolate for both the added warmth and the added sugar content.

Seek expert advice

Beard approaches this English Channel swim in the same way he would plan a housing development, using expert advice and knowledge to achieve the best possible outcome. He continually challenges the distance he can swim in the harsh elements and has also sought insight from those who have gone before him. “When I set the goal in 2019, my wife bought me a book written by a successful English Channel swimmer: ‘Keep Calm and Swim to France: Tales of an English Channel Swimmer’ by Mark Ransom,” he says. "Then, in June 2022, as part of my training, I completed a swim across Bear Lake in northern Utah. My guide for this swim was a former English Channel swimmer, Joelle Brown-Beard (no relation), who I connected with on Facebook. I received some great advice from Joelle to improve my training. When I swam with Joelle, I expected the lake crossing to be 6 miles long and take about three hours. But it actually took 6 Hours to swim 6.9 miles The water was 54ºF, which was part of my slower time than expected, but it also gave me a wake-up call that you need to seriously train for this type of swimming.”

Since then, Beard has ramped up to the point where he now regularly swims 10-12 hours a week. One to 1.5 hours on weekdays, five to more than six hours on Saturdays. With 3 years of training under his belt, Beard now considers himself an advanced swimmer, but always remember: It's important to seek professional advice and supervision when attempting long-distance swimming.

Its English Channel swim is scheduled for June 8-15, depending on weather and tidal conditions, and the Channel Swimming Association will also be on hand to observe the swim and ensure it is ratified.

“My main goal is to successfully complete the swim, no matter how long it takes,” Beard says. "I'm not doing this to set a record or become a professional marathon swimmer, but to achieve a life goal. It doesn't have to look pretty, I just have to get it done. I'll be thrilled no matter how much time I have!"

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