It can feel like the dark days of winter are never ending - February stretches ahead of us, and the weather has been so mild that there hasn't even been any ice to thrill us ice swimmers! Well, never fear, at Outdoor Swimmer we are excited for the year ahead – and are chasing those winter blues away with our February issue. It's time to Swim Happy!
Of course, Covid hasn't gone away but we are looking forward to a summer of swimming. In this issue we look at motivation, how to choose summer races, how to structure your training – and if you want to get fitter and faster we have a sneaky pool training session for you to try!
How did you get on with your New Year resolutions? “Waking up every day knowing I’ve got to swim gives me a purpose," says Vicki McCreadie, who challenged herself to swim every day in January. “It has loads of benefits to me and my health, and I see that when I cold water swim more regularly." In the February issue we meet the dip-a-dayers swimming away the winter blues.
Elsewhere in the new issue we talk to Attila Mányoki, one of a select few to have completed the Oceans Seven; Becky Horsbrugh reports on global drowning prevention programmes; we discuss poetry and outdoor swimming and the urge to capture our swim experiences; and Elaine Howley explores the history of mythical and deified women of
the sea.
Plus, the usual mix of stories from the global outdoor swimming community, travel and adventure, and wild swimming inspiration from around the world. Whether you are a cold water dipper or a Channel swimmer, we hope you love the new issue as much as we do.
Jonathan Cowie, Editor
