THEMAGIC5: Preparation and Gear Tips
We asked THEMAGIC5 for some of their top tips for open water preparation and which gear works best when you hit your local seas, lakes and rivers... THEMAGIC5 was first revealed to the public on Shark Tank when they entered the TV studio, won over the eagle-eyed investors and left with a big...
Swimming between countries, how Dee crossed the English Channel and the Irish Sea
Swimming had been something I loved all my life, but it was somewhat ruined after a particularly difficult Galway Bay Swim. That was until I booked my first SwimTrek trip to Croatia in 2014, I picked this trip specifically because I was trying to encourage my friend Zara to join me in open water...
Why You Should Try Sunrise and Sunset Swimming
Staycation. The word on everyone’s lips since coming out of lockdown. An opportunity to reconnect with the wonders of the world on our own doorstep and rediscover life’s simple pleasures. And outdoor swimming, whether at sunrise or sunset, is a chance to find the extraordinary in the ordinary and...
Jumping into the discomfort zone
As a child I hated swimming – I couldn’t seem to swim without swallowing half the pool and I remember my Dad finding me crying as I didn’t want to go to my lessons anymore. That coupled with a very sporty secondary school meant that I viewed myself as rubbish at all sport. When I hit my thirties,...
From Joanne the Fearful to Joanne the Conqueror: My Introduction to Open Water Swimming
The sea, and water in general, have been something I have feared for most of my life. One of my earliest memories is of being frightened of the sea and what it holds beneath the surface. To me, the ocean was something to avoid, to fear and to mistrust. It was too deep, too vast, too unknown - too...
Burn Survivor: How I took on the Bosphorus Swim
Years after having an accident as a child that left her with 3rd degree burns, Sylvia decided enough was enough and began sharing her story of learning to love her body. She campaigns for acceptance and visibility of scars and skins conditions with her Love Disfigure movement. As part of her...
How swimming saved my life
As regular swimmers, the positive of effects on swimming are familiar and routine to us. Nothing beats the glow of tired satisfaction you feel in your core when you’ve been in the sea for a cool swim, or that first dive in after being away from the water and feeling your whole body submerged. But...
SwimTrekker Rob Lea's Mount Everest and English Channel Challenge
Rob Lea made history in July 2019 when he became the first person to summit Mount Everest and swim the English Channel in the same year. Only a handful of people had ever achieved the two feats before, so to take on both in such a short time frame is nothing short of amazing! Rob joined us on our...
A Trip of a lifetime, Virginia’s Galapagos Diaries
_Long time SwimTrekker Virginia has swam with us from the Mediterranean to the Middle East and is a self-confessed SwimTrek super fan! Read on for her incredible account of her recent Galapagos adventure… _ Six years to the day since I embarked upon my very first Swim Trek trip, I found myself...
Six Widths in a Yellow Cap
Five years ago I stepped outside my comfort zone for the first time in forever. I agreed to accompany two fabulous open water swimmer friends of mine (Roger Allsopp and Regina Luxon) on something called a “Swim Trek holiday”. This particular Swim Trek holiday was a long distance training camp...
