Angie is taking on her 11th Aspire Channel Swim I have always loved swimming and I first took on the Aspire Channel Swim in 2013 after reading an article about how Aspire was helping a chap who’d had a car accident and broken his spine. This has motivated me to get involved every year. I particularly enjoy the Aspire Channel Swim because it gives me the focus of swimming a certain distance within a certain time. I have a busy life and it gives me an ‘excuse’ to take time for myself to go swimming and to help a good cause. I love swimming because I love the water and the freedom it offers, the meditative state it brings and the relaxing and stress-relieving benefits, as well as general fitness and toning. I sign up every year because I support the work that Aspire does and I like having a reason to go swimming. The Aspire Channel Swim gives me an excuse to take time out of my busy day to go regularly. I usually swim one mile every other day at David Lloyds in Leeds and Harrogate. I love to think I might be helping whilst doing something I love. For people taking on the swim for the first time I would advise breaking it down into smaller chunks to make it manageable as when you first start, 22 miles seems a long way! Sponsor Angie Aspire Channel Swimmer stories Sign up to the Aspire Channel Swim How we help Manage Cookie Preferences