Swimming Events Guide 2024
FEATURES,  View from the Water

Swimming: the last refuge?

About twice a week I get up early to swim. I go to the pool (or maybe a lake in the summer) and swim for an hour. Nothing complicated. Lots of people do it. Many say they feel good all day after doing it and have a sense of having achieved something useful.
I also, sometimes, get up early to work. I switch on the computer, make a tea while it warms up, drink my tea while checking the weather, email, Facebook, Twitter and various news feeds I follow, discovering all sorts of things I want to read. If I’m not careful I can quickly find my extra hour has disappeared and then I wish I’d gone swimming instead.
When you swim, no one can text you or phone you or message you. You don’t hear any annoying beeps on your phone as new email comes in or someone tags you on Facebook. You could listen to music but not many people do. You just swim and either focus on swimming or let your mind wander.
In open water the escapism is even more pronounced. You can usually swim further without turning and you have more space. No doubt someone somewhere is working on a pair of goggles that project a screen in front of your eyes, perhaps controlled by brain waves so that you can respond to email as you swim but we’d prefer it if that didn’t arrive too soon. With Wi-fi and 3G connectivity encroaching on almost every public and private space, the water is one of the few places you can leave it all behind, and long may it stay that way.

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I created Outdoor Swimmer in 2011 (initially as H2Open Magazine) as an outlet for my passion for swimming outdoors. I've been a swimmer and outdoor swimmer for as long as I remember. Swimming has made a huge difference to my life and I want to share its joys and benefits with as many people as possible. I am also the author of Swim Wild & Free: A Practical Guide to Swimming Outdoors 365 a Year and I provide one-to-one support to swimmers through Swim Mentoring.