Dear fellow swimmers
A warm welcome to Alice Dearing who joins our writing team
Subscribers to Outdoor Swimmer should have received their first issue of 2026 by now. You may have noticed we have a new contributor – Alice
Dearing. We're delighted to welcome Alice to our writing team.
I first saw Alice race at the Great North Swim many years ago as a junior athlete. I remember being impressed by the way she sliced through the water. Her stroke looked effortless compared to everyone else in the race. She went on to become the first black woman to swim for Team GB at the Olympics, racing the 10km marathon swim in Tokyo.
Building resilience in winter
Alice's first piece for us explores how the winter is a great time to build your aerobic base, reset, and plan.
I won't
spoil her article by sharing all her tips and advice, but I can confirm that the summers where I've felt strongest and most comfortable in the open water are those when I've been consistent with my pool training in the winter.
It's not just the miles in the pool. Getting up early, in the dark, and cycling to the pool in the rain or freezing fog, also plays a part.
You will
almost certainly have low points on long swims. In these moments, I remind myself of those blocks of 400m I've done in the pool over winter, and of the effort it took to get there. These are the moments when you tell yourself that you've done the work, so now you get the reward.
Every cold dip counts, too!
One thing Alice doesn't mention is cold water
dipping. I wasn't a fan for many years. But I've come to realise that those outdoor winter swims also build your resilience and boost your summer swimming.
So, if you want a brief plan to make the most of open water this summer, it's this: log some miles in the pool now and sprinkle in the occasional cold water plunge. And get yourself the latest copy of Outdoor Swimmer!
