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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…
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A toast to rebellious ladies of a certain age
You may already have seen this picture. Julie Lloyd shared it via Twitter earlier this week. What does it say…
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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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Eight ways to clear a swimming lane
Apologies if you think I’ve possibly lured you here using the exaggerated headline trick. I don’t have a magical solution…
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Race, play, just swim, workout, train or practise?
Last week we asked, “what are you swimming for?” and looked at the pleasure to be had from simply joining…
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It’s all open water swimming to me
The old docks in Salford and Lake Coniston only have one thing in common, and that’s water. This means, of…
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What to do if your swim is cancelled
Swim cancellations and postponements are a fact of life, especially in places with fickle weather. This week I had hoped…
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How much do you need to train in your wetsuit?
Earlier this summer, southern England was blessed with unusually warm weather and a number of our gravel pit lakes hit…
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What other people think about open water swimming
In last week’s blog post I mentioned I’d been in Brighton and did a little sea swimming. While I was…
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Developing a swimmer’s sixth sense
Last week I was lucky enough to meet Karen Pickering. For those who don’t know, Karen is one of GB’s…
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Fun with swimming numbers
We’ve had a couple of serious blog posts recently, so we thought we’d lighten the mood and have some fun…
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A visit to Serpentine Swimming Club
A while ago, a committee member at Serpentine Swimming Club accused me of being “remiss”, if not “negligent”, in failing…
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The difference a few degrees can make
Last weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest of the team behind Swim the Costa Brava at their…
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Even the best swimmers get nervous about open water
Last weekend was the Great North Swim, which takes place on Windermere in the Lake District. It’s Britain’s largest mass…
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Stop worrying about your finish time in open water
At a recent event I came across a young man (late teenager I guess) who was bitterly disappointed about his…
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Don’t be a ninja swimmer
Every now and then, when driving, you come across a cyclist out in the dark, in black clothing, face mostly…
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Swimming: the last refuge?
About twice a week I get up early to swim. I go to the pool (or maybe a lake in…
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Can we please stop using ‘brave’ to describe open water swimmers?
How many times in the national and regional press have you read the word ‘brave’ to describe people going about…
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What have railways and reservoirs got in common?
There was a story on the BBC website recently about people campaigning to keep railway level crossings open. National Rail,…
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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…
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What if Michael Phelps were an open water swimmer?
Michael Phelps’s return to competitive swimming at the Arena Grand Prix in Arizona has been greeted with excitement by both…
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Isn’t the pool full at the moment?
If you’re a regular pool swimmer (which we know from oursurvey that many open water swimmers also are) you’ll probably have…
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Don’t let Blue Monday get you down
Earlier this week a number of papers were talking about ‘Blue Monday’, describing it as the most depressing day of…
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Do the test of time
The Amateur Swimming Association is currently running its annual T30 challenge for masters swimmers. It’s open until 31 January so…
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10 degrees is not twice as warm as 5 degrees, but it’s useful to assume that is
Regular readers will have noticed that we’re sometimes a little fussy at H2Open about our choice of words. We don’t…
