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Mad Cows come home
On Sunday morning the Cumbrian Open Water Swimmers (COWS), definitely mad, arrived back home, after completing the challenge of swimming…
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Henley Bridge to Bridge
I must admit, when I signed up for Bridge to Bridge it was as a reluctant team member of team…
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Watch out Tom Daley, there’s a new champion in town
It has been a weekend of frenzied competition in the world of swimming. In the FINA World Championships in Kazan,…
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Could better access to open water reduce drowning deaths?
I’m writing this while waiting for a flight back from Berlin. I’ve just spent a week in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte,…
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Why finding a snake in your open water swimming spot is a good thing
Last weekend I decided to take a closer look at the River Mole to see if it’s suitable for swimming.…
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Beware the perils of overconfidence – and some tips on swimming straight
Having completed a reasonably large number of open water swims I believe (at least, I believed until now) that I…
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Why I was happy to get stung by a jellyfish
Until this weekend, I had never been stung by a jellyfish. I’ve swum many times in water where jellyfish have…
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Masters Open Water Swimming on the World Stage – Kazan 2015
After winning the 30-34 Age Group at the ASA National Open Water Masters at the beginning of August, Pip Bennett…
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Kids’ goggles: Right intention, wrong approach
I stumbled across a news story the other day about a school that had banned the use of goggles during…
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Why open water swimmers should consider joining a masters swim club
Last weekend, hundreds of adult swimmers gathered in Sheffield for the 2015 ASA National Masters and Senior Age Group Championships.…
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Why pool swimmers fear open water – and what to do about it if you do
This weekend I was at The Swim Expo in Manchester where I made a presentation about open water swimming. It…
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You know you’ve had a good swim when…
We’re looking for your suggestions this week. It’s easy to feel smug as a swimmer as we know that not…
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Don’t be put off by your first open water swim
This is the time of year when many commercial open water venues start up for the season. If you’ve been…
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What’s the point of all that swimming?
Last weekend I did a 400m freestyle race in a pool at the Gloucester Masters meet. I posted a time…
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To race or not to race?
Open water swimming events give me a dilemma that never seems to come up in pool competitions: should I push…
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Capturing that magic swimming feeling
Not all swims are created equal. Some days the water is light and gentle and swimming is easy. If you…
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Capturing that magic swimming feeling
Not all swims are created equal. Some days the water is light and gentle and swimming is easy. If you…
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Dealing with goggle troubles
There aren’t many items of kit that are truly essential for open water swimming but goggles come close. You can…
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Train hard, but remember to have fun
It has to be said that some races are pretty serious affairs, and with good reason. As a culmination of…
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Pushing the limits
Whoever designed the British Long Distance Swimming Association’s Champion of Champions event had a twisted and sadistic sense of fun.…
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Take your (open water) swims when you can
There’s a saying among swimmers that you “never regret a swim”. I don’t know if that’s an infallible truth but…
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What open water swimming and producing a magazine have in common
While we use the word ‘solo’ to describe a marathon swim that isn’t done as part of a relay, I’ve…
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The wrong message on open water swimming
The other day my kids reported that form teachers in their school had been asked to read out a letter…
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Can we learn from obstacle racing?
We’ve been talking to the publisher of Obstacle Race Magazine about some cross promotion ideas, so last weekend I went…
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The times when swimmers really need courage
Open water swimmers – and especially cold water swimmers – are often described as brave. We try to avoid using…
