How to get the most from a swimming event | Don’t get caught out by the catch | Join a Guernsey swim challenge
Published: Sat, 04/22/23
Your essential weekly edit of outdoor swimming
YOUR ESSENTIAL WEEKLY EDIT OF OUTDOOR SWIMMING
#swimwildandfree
Dear fellow swimmers
In the early days of publishing Outdoor Swimmer (or H2Open as it was then), about now we’d mark the ‘start of the open water swimming season’. Back then, winter swimming was an eccentric and minority pursuit. Towards the end of April
there’d be a flurry of excitement as venues started opening up and swimmers unpacked their wetsuits and returned to the water. Some years, the first open water events would take place over the first May bank holiday weekend.
How things have changed! Winter swimming has grown massively and outdoor swimming, for many, is now a year-round activity. Many more people choose to swim without a wetsuit and search out wilder (and free) places to swim.
Yet summer remains the most popular time of year for outdoor swimming and is the easiest time of year to get started if you’re new. Next weekend’s May bank holiday therefore seems like as good a time as any to mark the start of the summer season. Inland waters are warming up nicely (it was 11.7 degrees in my spot in the Thames yesterday) and the sea temperatures will follow soon. Longer evenings increase outdoor swimming opportunities,
commercial venues are shifting to their summer timetables and organised swimming challenges are just around the corner. If you’ve not swum outside through the winter, it’s time to start acclimatising and training. And if you’re lucky enough to have the day off next Monday, here are some suggestions to kick start your summer swimmer season:
TEN OUTDOOR VENUES WHERE YOU CAN JOIN THIS YEAR’S
SWIMATHON
Take part in this year’s Swimathon – the world’s largest annual fundraising swim with distances ranging from 400m to over 30km – in the open air at one of these spectacular lidos.
DO YOU LOVE THE LONDON MARATHON BUT DON’T LIKE RUNNING?
Fancy getting the same buzz the London Marathon runners are getting this weekend, but don’t fancy pounding the streets? WaterAid is currently offering FREE entry to three events to help you get that adrenalin fix!
Secure your place in the Thames Marathon, an endurance swim of either 13km or 5.5km along a picturesque stretch of the Thames.
Grab a place in the Swim Serpentine, London Marathon’s official swim event, and the venue for the official London 2012 Olympics.
Register your interest in the Swim Marathon and tackle a full 26-mile distance over 12 weeks in your local pool or open water swim space.
Use the discount code OSMARATHON to secure your FREE place!
There is a lot to work on before you start thinking about the underwater phase of front crawl, says Jonathan Cowie in this training and technique feature from the April 2023 edition of Outdoor Swimmer, now available online. (Premium content).
Liz Stonebridge established the 30 Bays in 30 Days sea swim challenge in Guernsey in 2013 to raise money for Les Bourgs Hospice. As the event turns 10 this year, we asked Liz to share the story behind this inspiring challenge.
Relax and take it slow: Simon Griffiths shares some tips for underwater swimming. Published on Outdoor Swimmer Extra from the April 2023 edition. (Premium content).
April 2023 – UNDERWATER | Read it on digital or in print from anywhere in the world. Purchase a single issue or subscribe to a monthly magazine and save up 20% each month.
