10 days to go until the WaterAid Swim Marathon kicks off 🏊

Published: Sun, 07/21/24

Updated: Sun, 07/21/24

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Only 10 days to go until the WaterAid Swim Marathon kicks off

There’s still time to sign up to this fantastic challenge!

Each summer, the WaterAid Swim Marathon invites people to swim a half (13 miles) or full marathon (26 miles) over 12 weeks in their local pool or open water venue. This year’s challenge runs between 1 August and 24 October and is already off to a cracking start with over 300 participants signed up so far!

Having recently completed the Swim Marathon, I wanted to share my experience and to encourage you to sign up for this rewarding event. For me, the WaterAid Swim Marathon was an ideal challenge as it was flexible, allowing me to choose when and where I swam, it provided much needed motivation and the accountability of logging my distances, and encouraged me to explore new open water destinations. The challenge pushed me to turn up to regular swims, it improved my fitness and helped me to gain some much needed headspace.

Read on for more about my Swim Marathon journey, to find out how taking on the challenge can help reach people around the world with access to clean drinking water and to get our top tips for taking on this virtual challenge.

Jo Tinsley
Gear Editor, Outdoor Swimmer

What is the WaterAid Swim Marathon?

Each summer, the WaterAid Swim Marathon invites people to swim a half (13 miles) or full marathon (26 miles) over 12 weeks to raise money for the one in 10 people who don’t have clean water close to home.

In 2023, 750 people took part swimming a combined total of 7,207 miles and raising just over £51,000 for WaterAid. This year’s event takes place 1 August-24 October 2024 – and you can swim whenever and wherever you like, with previous participants totting up the distance in lidos, lakes and the sea.

FIND OUT MORE

"Taking part in the Swim Marathon pushed me to turn up to regular swims, it improved my fitness and helped me to gain some much needed headspace"

In the run up to this summer’s WaterAid Swim Marathon, I took on the challenge of swimming 26 miles (42.2km) over 12 weeks, swimming in lidos, lakes, indoor pools and the sea.

Read about my journey including the different ways you can break down the distance, the unexpected benefits of turning up to swim 3-4 times a week, and how to find your motivation when things get tough.

READ JO'S EXPERIENCE

Finding your motivation

Around the midway point of my challenge, I decided to read more about WaterAid’s projects to remind me why I was doing this

I read about Sabita and her nine-year-old daughter Joyeeta in Kolbari, Bangladesh, where extreme flooding and drought, caused by climate change, is making life even harder. Until WaterAid helped to install a rainwater harvesting system, Sabita and her daughter would spend three hours per day collecting water, meaning Sabita had less time to work as a tailor or to get her children to school.

I often think about what I would do if only I had a few extra hours each day: to swim in the open air or to spend more time playing with my daughter. So when I thought of the millions of mothers and daughters who spend hours every day collecting water for their families, and what else they could be doing with that time, this really struck home and gave me the boost of motivation I needed to keep swimming.

READ MORE ABOUT WATERAID'S WORK

Finding your motivation

Our top tips for making WaterAid’s Swim Marathon fun and achievable

Go on an adventure
Open water swimming isn’t just about exercise, it can be a way to see new places, meet new people and explore your local area. When your swim is an adventure, the distances will easily disappear. Why not challenge yourself to swim a mile in 26 different places? With a different person for each swim? Or swim a mile a day in the same place and note how the landscape changes.
Be realistic with your goals
The general rule of thumb is that you can increase distance by 10 per cent per week from what you’ve previously been comfortable swimming. Be kind to yourself and don’t try to do too much too soon. Start where you can, and finish where you do.
Make a plan, write it down
Despite best intentions, it can be easy to miss a session. Try to plan which days and times you will swim and book them in advance. WaterAid have an online tracking system and a new printable paper tracker you can use.
Tell other people and get sponsored
Raising money for the one in 10 people around the world who don’t have access to clean water is a clear motivation, but telling people what you’re doing also helps because they can help keep you accountable. Why not also invite your sponsors to swim a session or two with you too and make it a social occasion?

I hope we’ve inspired you to take on your own Swim Marathon this summer. Please keep us posted and share your progress with us on social media @outdoorswimmer. Best of luck!

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