In 2014 I took on the Aspire Channel Swim which was a great experience. I relished the challenge and found it really pushed me to go swimming regularly and to target longer distances than I had thought I could do. At that time, it was just the motivation I needed to get fitter and stronger, but it also brought some joy back to swimming as I raised money and clocked up the miles.  Pool swimming can be quite soulless as you just clock up the lengths, but this gave it more purpose and focus.

I grew up by the sea in Dublin and have always loved swimming. However, I’ve lived inland for many years now and found that I only swam on holidays or back home. When lockdown landed though, with a few friends, we found a local lake that opened before the pools and gyms, so we gave it a go... and we LOVED it!  It completely changed not our only our lockdown experiences but our lives.  Six years later we still meet every Sunday morning for a swim and chat.  We swim all year round, in all temperatures and weathers - without wetsuits!

Our little gang, ‘The Hardies’ have tried lots of other local lakes, we took a little swim holiday together to Copenhagen for a swim festival and we’ve been to Ireland for a swim event in the Fjord. We have taken part in the Henley swims, the Bantham Swoosh and our absolute favourite was the Level Water 24 hour relay.  We even entered a relay team in the UK Cold Water Championships in 2025 which was fabulous fun!  I’ve swum in Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year Day swims – usually with the other Hardies.

I love outdoor swimming because of the peace, the space, the simplicity and the beauty. When you are swimming there is nothing else you can do – you only focus on putting one arm in front of the other and staying afloat. You only listen to yourself, be it your breathing or your heartbeat or your thoughts.

I love the space that open water gives you and the simplicity - no matter who you are or what you do, when you are in the middle of the lake, or the Channel, you are the same as everyone else and a guest in the waters, just bobbing up and down going with the waves and the tides. The seas and lakes are beautiful, wonders of nature with amazing surroundings – and somehow the world looks different from the water with the reflections, the colours, the plant and bird life so close. 

I’ve also thrived on the camaraderie of swimming – I get so much joy from the combined sense of achievement with my friends as we endure the cold, or swim a bit further or longer or faster, or we celebrate a birthday with a post swim picnic!

Last September, I saw an advert for Aspire’s Relay Channel Swims. It seemed to be the right challenge for me at the right time, so I applied. The Channel has always been the ultimate swim event for me - I had a colleague 30 years ago who had swum it when she was young and I’ve been intrigued by it ever since.  I’m in my mid-50s and I’ve begun to feel invisible and less sure of myself and my capabilities. I needed to take on something to reassure myself that I’m not done yet!

My Relay Channel Swim

My team was the Aspire Scorpions. Swimming as part of a team is probably the highlight of doing it with Aspire. Swimming is a solo sport but there was nothing solitary about this for us. With the team and our incredible boat leader, I’ve made friends for life. We have supported each other for months now not only with training and logistics, but with life events and stories. We have had great weekends in Dover together, pushing each other, but also cheering and supporting. The team is the best bunch of cheerleaders you could ever ask for.

The swim was the most unbelievable event of my life! The entire journey from assessment day last November has been unsurpassable but the swim itself was without doubt the highlight.

The water temperature was perfect - about 19C so warm without being too hot. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the water was glistening. However, it was quite choppy with a force 3-4 wind so that kept us focussed and made us work hard. I had a few encounters with jellyfish – there were lots of them in the water with us – but thankfully they didn’t hurt, just a minor sting, though I yelped a few times as I swam over them!

My favourite moment of the swim was swimming into France together – it was 4.15am so still dark and I felt like some sort of special agent or spy landing on a special mission! The streets were empty and it was completely quiet as we swam in. Remarkably we were greeted by a lovely Frenchman who joined us on the steps to take our photos.  I got out of the water smiling with elation – the best swim EVER!  We were blessed to be able to be in France together to mark this momentous event in our lives.

Swimming the Channel has made me feel whole – I am proud of myself and my determination, commitment and strength. I’m not the best at anything and never will be but I put everything I had into this and it paid off. From joining two swimming clubs and overcoming my dislike for pool swimming, to organising fundraising events, I did all it took and it paid off. I have faith in myself again.

I also loved all the messages online about us – so many people getting in touch to cheer us on and congratulate us. People are so kind and the simplest gesture of a thumbs up or heart emoji in the middle of the night made such a difference.

Our boat leader Rebekah was PHENOMENAL! She is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and we were privileged to have her with us.  Being in the Aspire Scorpions team, along with Rebekah,  made the event. The support, encouragement, and constant chat through the past seven months brought this to life and helped to keep us all on track, on plan and focussed.

My fundraising

I have raised over £3,500 which included organising a quiz night. With my husband’s help, we hired a hall and persuaded a bunch of our friends to come along. My husband was an amazing quiz master and my sister came from Ireland to help out. We had a cracking evening and raised over £1,400. I also ran a ‘where am I in the channel’ game at work and raised another £300.

Many years ago, my brother had an accident and we thought he had a spinal cord injury. Thankfully he didn’t and he recovered but the event did cause us to think about the implications and challenges of life. Aspire supports a somewhat forgotten community – spinal cord injuries don’t get the same press and airtime as cancer and heart attacks but are equally if not more devastating. What Aspire does to support this community is phenomenal and I was honoured to raise funds.

Thank you! Thank you to Aspire and especially to Andrew for his fabulous emails and tips and tricks. Thank you to Bex our boat leader for her constant joyfulness and enthusiasm and just being the superhuman that she is. Thank you to my fellow Scorpions for making this one of the best days of my life!  Thank you to all my family and friends who donated and indulged me to follow this dream.

Sponsor Edel

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