FEATURES
In-depth features that celebrate the vibrant outdoor swimming community, spotlighting extraordinary individuals and their stories.
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Club of the Month – Brockwell Icicles
The Brockwell Icicles are an informal group of friends who share a love of winter swimming at Brockwell Lido in…
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Swimming my way to recovery
The 16th February 2010 is etched in my memory as the day I heard the words “you may never walk again”.…
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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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Cross-country runner to open water swimmer
After injury forced my reluctant retirement from athletics after 40 years – the last 17 of them as an international…
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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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Five swims in five countries for a five-star son
After the sudden death of my son James in December 2015 and the long wait for the autopsy which showed…
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Vicky Miller to swim from the Scilly Isles to UK mainland
Last year Vicky Miller became the tenth woman to swim the North Channel, one of the toughest crossings in the…
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Swimming the length of the United Kingdom’s longest river
On Saturday, after 18 days and 360km, Ross O’Sullivan finished swimming the length of Great Britain’s longest river, the River…
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Don’t follow your dreams
I have a confession to make. For the past few months my swimming has been pretty much confined to the…
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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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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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In the wake of Mercedes Gleitze
I grew up on the Causeway coast of Ireland in a little seaside town called Portstewart. I am now 33, a…
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We need to change attitudes to swimming outside
The other day I was looking back at a Guardian article about open water swimming from last year (Different strokes:…
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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…
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H2Open celebrates five years – with a pool party!
It might seem slightly ironic for a magazine that promotes open water swimming that we decided to celebrate five years…
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What’s your swim training type (and what does it say about your personality)?
When you arrive at a swimming training session, how do you approach it – and what does it say about…
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Don’t talk open water swimming down
This weekend we had a stand at Swim Expo in Manchester. We like events as they’re great places to talk…
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Sean Conway talks about rafts, unsupported swims and using tidal currents
On 1 April 2016 Sean Conway will set off on his around Britain triathlon. Starting at Lulworth Cove he will…
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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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Get the main things right before worrying about the details
If you’ve been swimming for a while, you’ll know there isn’t a secret formula to turn you from plodder to…
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Where I’ll be swimming from 25 Feb to 1 March
On Thursday morning, 25 Feb, I will be getting up at a ridiculous time of day to travel across London…
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Don’t “smash it”
Thanks to Fiona Ford for the idea for this post. Fiona writes swim training sessions for H2Open and also runs…
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Pirita Open Winter Swimming Festival: literally Baltic
A weekend in Tallinn is the perfect trip for cold-water thrill seekers “I’m sorry madam, we have no more Prosecco…
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Nine New Year’s resolutions suggestions for open water swimmers
We decided it was that time of year to draw up a list of suggestions for New Year’s resolutions for…
