I started outdoor swimming about 8 years ago. I’m very lucky to live near a 60m unheated lido and a 1.2km loop lake so it was a natural progression from a swimming pool, where endless lengths really do test the soul!  I swim, run and go to the gym etc and there are so many benefits; you feel fit and energised and mentally you leave everything behind, with swimming it’s just you and water. I like a goal, and the feeling once you’ve completed it is amazing. It’s also a great way to go to places you’d never normally go to and meets lots of different people.

Sponsor Sarah

I’ve done a few organised swims; Lakes Coniston, Ullswater and Windermere, the River Dart 10k, the Jubilee 10km, the Lock to Lock 10km as well as the original Thames Marathon 14km, Henley Mile and the Pub to Pub, the latter of which is a lot of fun! I never thought I’d end up in a pub in a wetsuit with a beer!  But although I have a lot of experience of outdoor swimming, it has all very much been in my beloved wetsuit. From May until September I swim outside, then I normally hunker down and head to the gym and pool or run over the winter months.

I love open water swimming because of the freedom it gives you to swim, with no walls to kick off, you can just open up and swim. There are no lines to follow, and the views can be stunning.  I decided to swim (part of) the Channel because it’s the ‘classic’, one of the toughest open water swims there is and has been a childhood dream for as long as I can remember.

This relay swim is the first step to my aim to swim the Channel solo (but back in my beloved rubber, in 2028/9!).

I found Aspire because of the positive results, for once, of algorithms and social media!  It popped up and I clicked through to read about the charity. Coincidently it was also something a great friend of mine was considering so it was definitely a sign that 2026 was the year.

I chose to swim with Aspire because I was blown away by the team we met at their Assessment Day in November; so many people, from all walks of life with a common goal to raise money and get to France. There was so much experience and all so brilliantly organised.

I am loving every second of being part of Team Scorpion.  We met up in Dover for a quick dip in January and coffee afterwards. I am super lucky to have a brilliant team and our boat leader Rebekah is fantastic; she gives us so much encouragement, great communication and is a lot of fun. She really has surpassed any expectations I had, I feel very lucky!

Thinking about our swim, I am terrified and super excited in equal measures!  I was definitely hoping for a later slot, purely for the temperature as I’m not looking forward to the cold - I am terrible in the cold.  For my training, the winter was all about acclimatisation, using a ‘hot not Tub’ from a couple of minutes in 3 degrees to where I am today, nearly 2 hours in 14.5 degrees – progress!

My fundraising is going well so far.  I am pleased to be over halfway towards my target – and as I write now over 80% of the way there… I am planning an online quiz for family and friends, as everyone is based so far away from each other, and I will be baking like a crazy Mary Berry soon!

I don’t personally know anyone with a spinal cord injury, but I do through friends of friends. I spent many years riding horses and eventing and this is tragically a high-risk sport where accidents happen with catastrophic outcomes so for me Aspire was the perfect charity to get behind.

I’d like to say thank you so much to Aspire, an incredible charity making such a massive difference to so many people and I am feeling very privileged to be part of it.

Sponsor Sarah 

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