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A few lessons from 2Swim4Life
This year I took part in my first ever 2Swim4Life event. I wasn’t brave (or foolhardy) enough to take on…
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We’re changing, but we’re also staying the same
Image: saying goodbye to H2Open but hello to Outdoor Swimmer We are changing our name to Outdoor Swimmer and increasing…
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The David Wilkie problem
Last week, a few of the national papers picked up on a swimming related story that’s relevant to anyone who…
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When is a swim more than just a swim?
Image: Steve Wand Memorial Swim (c) Neil Gear Towards the end of 2015, a bunch of guys gathered at Charlton…
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Treat the options in open water swimming as a menu, not a ‘to do’ list
What do you want from open water swimming? I used to do a bit of triathlon, which is a very…
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Gone Swimming celebrates sixth year with launch of new outdoor swimming trips in North Wales
Gone Swimming is a swimming holiday and adventure company based in North Wales and entering its sixth season in 2017.…
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Swimming for Good with Aspire
Image: Aspire Channel Swimmers’ dinner with guest speaker Kevin Murphy Starting eight years ago, Aspire, the spinal injuries charity, has…
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A few reasons why swimming isn’t a waste of time
Last week the Telegraph posted a story with the alarming and misleading headline: “Most swimmers are wasting their time, say…
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Water is dangerous; swimming is relatively safe
The recently released statistics from the Water Incident Database (WAID) show that 321 people drowned in the United Kingdom in…
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Don’t let the clock spoil your open water swim
Last weekend I took part in Swim Serpentine, a new open water event on the UK calendar. It ran over…
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How dangerous is lightning to swimmers?
Can you swim in a thunderstorm? Are you safe beside the water? How can you avoid lightning strikes when swimming?…
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Seven Ways to Become a Better Swimmer
What does becoming a better swimmer mean to you? Your first thought might be that better equates to faster. For…
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Staying on message
On a hot, sunny afternoon earlier this month I went out for a paddle on the Thames and came across…
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A tale of two swims
This weekend I took part in two very different swims. The first, the Great Newham London Swim, had more than…
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Film review – Unbelievable: The Chad Le Clos Story
Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting! I thought I was in for something like Cool Runnings but with a…
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More on the power of pacing
I hope this isn’t beginning to sound repetitive but I want to talk about pacing, again. I have new data…
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Keep it clean
It’s reasonable, I suppose, to assume open water swimmers prefer to practise their sport in clean water. Nobody really likes…
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A never-ending swimming journey
Often in swimming we set goals with a clearly defined end point: complete an open water mile, swim the length…
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Hold your line and keep on swimming
During a Q&A at the RLSS Open Water Festival last weekend a swimmer asked: “What should I do if I’m…
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Oxford versus Cambridge – Across the English Channel
It’s not the usual thing you’d expect students to be doing in the very early hours of the morning, but…
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You get what you train for (mostly)
Last weekend was the infamous BLDSA Champion of Champions in Dover Harbour. I took part for the second time and…
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The first open water swim of the year
When you’ve spent the winter cosseted in warm indoor pools, your first open water swim of the year can be…
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Masters of the universe
The phrase ‘masters swimming’ is perhaps not the best to describe what is, in essence, structured swimming, with an option…
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Theodore Yach completes 100 Robben Island swims: interview
At just over 7km from the mainland and visible from Cape Town the possibility of swimming from Robben Island has…
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Why volunteer at an open water swimming event?
At many open water events you’ll see people in high-vis vests directing swimmers to the starting line, giving you a…
