Embrace all the challenges

Whether it’s a short sprint or a monster challenge, for marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas all swimming challenges are an opportunity to learn and grow

When I finished the Four Way English Channel in 2019, the very last thing every single interviewer asked me was, “What’s next?”

I’d just completed one of the biggest swims ever and already people wanted to know how I could top that incredible achievement.

My answer? “There are plenty of swims in the 20-mile range that are interesting and difficult, I’m sure I’ll find something fun to swim.

Making memories

So, in 2020, I swam a tandem length crossing of Lake Tahoe. My friend and I had both done the swim before, but in the chaos of COVID, returning to one of my favorite places and creating a memory with a good friend was immensely rewarding.

Two months later, I swam the Anacapa Channel – a mere 20km from Anacapa Island back to the coast of California.

In 2021, with about six weeks of planning, I swam the Molokai (Kaiwi) Channel in Hawaii in February in blazing hot water. Then, in September, I crossed Monterey Bay, one of the Toughest Thirteen, known for being freezing cold and filled with jellyfish.

Facing my fears

Then, last July, I was the first person to do a Double North Channel crossing: 42 miles of my biggest fears, all rolled into one swim.

Even though I’d swum Tahoe before, doing it tandem created a fun challenge of adapting our pacing and swimming styles.

Anacapa was short, but I focused on speed, which is something I hadn’t done in ages. With a little help from Mother Nature, I set the speed record for that stretch of water.

In Hawaii and Monterey, I was terrified of the biting and stinging things that live there and both swims stretched me from a temperature perspective. I puked my way across both bodies of water, which forced me to dig extra deep to confront my “why”.

And the North Channel has terrified me for years; simply getting the courage to commit to that swim was an enormous feat.

Learning from each swim

All of that to say: goals and challenges come in all shapes and sizes. I don’t need a big monster swim to push my limits. Every stroke I take in the water is part of a journey that gives me an opportunity to learn and grow.

Rewards, recognition and accolades are all secondary to the opportunity to strip down and pit my body against nature. I thrive on that journey, whether it’s two miles or 100 miles. I’ve swum in beautifully terrifying bodies of water in the last few years, all on a quest to make sure I’m still setting goals and finding challenges.

And I think, like many of us, my soul is still seeking the self-actualisation that can only be found when we’re swimming across a lake or ocean that pushes in the wrong direction, with creatures below and waves crashing around us.

There is always another swim, another lesson to learn, and another challenge to undertake. As we wade into 2023, lean into those challenges, both big and small, and enjoy the ride; I know I will be!

This article is from the February issue of Outdoor Swimmer. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.