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Clarke Is Superman


Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Karteek Alan Clarke is a Scottish member of the Edinburgh Sri Chinmoy Athletic Club and an accomplished runner, having completed numerous marathons and ultramarathon runs and walks.

But he has also taken his marathon mindset to the water: He has completed 11 English Channel solo crossings, pioneered three first unassisted cold Scottish swims, and completed a number of other marathon swims as a vegetarian member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

He will soon come out with a highly anticipated book that includes special emphasis on the issues such as the deeper meaning of marathon events, motivation for marathons and how it prepares one for future greater challenges, how to derive as much joy and happiness from the training as the event, turning an injury into a physical and mental stepping stone, getting stronger during and as a result of weather delays.

On dryland, Clarke has completed over 20 running marathons, a number of 50-mile runs, a 24-hour race, and three multi-day races over a period of 6 days and twice over 10 days.

That dryland experience has served him well for a 26.5 km crossing of Lake Zurich in 1999 in 9 hours 20 minutes, a 16.9 km crossing of Windermere in 2004 in 5 hours 20 minutes, a 33.8 km two-way crossing of Windermere in 2014 in 13 hours, a 17.7 km two-way crossing of Loch Earn in 2005 in 7 hours, an unprecedented 16 km crossing of Firth of Forth in Scotland in 2011 in 5 hours 20 minutes, an unprecedented bioprene 22.5 km (14-mile) crossing of Loch Tay in Scotland in 2012 in 8 hours 35 minutes, and an unprecedented 10.5 km circumnavigation of Gull Rock in Scotland in 2012 in 4 hours 17 minutes in addition to his English Channel crossings:

1. 11 hours 57 minutes in 1997 at the age of 30
2. 14 hours 52 minutes in 2000 at the age of 33
3. 12 hours 49 minutes in 2001 at the age of 34
4. 10 hours 53 minutes in 2002 at the age of 35
5. 16 hours 5 minutes in 2003 at the age of 36
6. 16 hours 13 minutes in 2004 at the age of 37
7. 13 hours 28 minutes in 2005 at the age of 38
8. 16 hours 18 minutes in 2006 at the age of 39
9. 14 hours 54 minutes in 2008 at the age of 41
10. 16 hours 49 minutes in 2009 at the age of 42
11. 19 hours 1 minute in 2014 at the age of 47

Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association

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