Perrine Fages, a resident of Doha and a lawyer, has recently returned to Qatar from Europe after breaking the women’s record in one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges, the Enduroman Arch to Arc. It’s a challenge which sees competitors to run 140km from London’s Marble Arch to Dover on the English coast, swim the English Channel and then bike 288km from Calais to the Arc De Triumphe in Paris. 
Fifty solo athletes participated this year, with only 32 having fully completed the challenge. This was Perrine’s second attempt at the challenge. During June 2018 challenge she could not reach the land safely because of the tidal conditions in the channel. But, nothing seemed to faze the young athlete. She regrouped with her coach and team and set about a plan to return and break the record this very time.
During the competition, running the route to Dover in 18h 33min, Perrine and her support crew learnt that one of the vehicles carrying their passports and bags have broken down, resulting in the misplacement of their luggage. Even this did not hold her back. Many fans and past competitors drove out to the course with bags of sports clothing and equipment as a support to the young athlete. 
Following the run, there was a short break in Dover and then she dived into the channel, completing the challenging swim with large waves all night in 20h 31min. At this point Perrine knew the record was a real possibility but unlike other athletes she would not be able to rest for 6-8 hours before starting to bike to Paris.
With the support of one of the organiser’s French team members, she biked 288km to Paris in a mere 19h 44min, setting a new record of 67h 21m.
On talking about her success, she said, “The first time, things did not really turn out the way we had planned. But that’s part of the adventure.” She added, “The run was much tougher this time, firstly because of the stress caused when we heard that the support car was broken and our luggage got missing. Secondly, because this time we had to do it overnight, in order to make the tide for swimming, the darkness made it much worse to stay motivated and get into a fast stride. After the swim part, I had a feeling I could break the record and it was just about pushing myself all the way to Paris. I have learnt a lot about myself by achieving this success and I feel blessed to have been surrounded by such a team of professionals with whom I shared some really special memories.”
For the challenge, Perrine’s Head Coach was Ryan Bowd of RnR Sports, with assistance from Tim Denyer, a specialist channel swimming coach. Mat O’Halloran, Swim Coach, and Bobby, Personal Trainer at Grand Hyatt, were also part of her crew. She was supported by Ryan and fellow RnR Sports Coach, Ralph Hydes, during the challenge. Edgar comments “It is fantastic feat by Perrine to have set the record. The Enduroman Arch to Arc is a challenge that takes full dedication from an athlete in its preparation and few people have the drive and commitment needed to attempt the event.” Perrine’s next big challenge is competing in this year’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.


Perrine’s Results (UK timing)
Run - 140km
Started Run on August 19th, 2018 at 3:30pm
Finished Run August 19th, 2018 at 10:03 am
Total Run 18h33m run


Transition 1 in Dover - 5h16m
Swim – English Channel
Started Swim on August 20th, 2018 at 3:19pm
Finished Swim on August 21st, 2018 at 11:50am 
Total Swim Time 20h31m 


Transition 2 in Calais 3h17m
Bike – 288km
Started Bike on August 21st, 2018 at 3:07pm
Finished Bike at 10:58am next day
     Total Bike Time 19h44m
Total Time – 67h21m