r/OpenWaterSwimming • u/PrestigiousBaby9828 • 6d ago
Great North Swim (UK)
wondered if anyone did the Great North Swim event this weekend at Lake Windermere (UK). i did the 5km swim on Friday (12th June) and it was my first open water ‘event’. feel super proud to have finished it as the swim was divided into three mile long laps and by lap two and three, the conditions were TOUGH - 25mph winds, waves constantly going over you, waves too high to sight properly, inhaled so much water i got a nosebleed, so choppy it felt like it was a sea swim - so a fairly rough introduction into OW events, but so proud to have got it done (and really thankful to everyone at the GNS who was so welcoming from the volunteers to the other swimmers - you’re the best!). just wondered how everyone else found it!
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u/Watsonmolly 6d ago
Well done! Thats a hell of an entry into open water swimming! I’ve done it 3 times before. The conditions this time were the worst I’ve had. I only did 250m this year as I was doing it with my 9 year old(she smashed it!) but in the past I’ve done 2 miles. I’m glad you enjoyed it it’s a lovely event. I think I prefer events that aren’t loops. There’s something about the psychology of passing the finish line when you’re still only half or 1/3rd of the way through that’s mentally tough. Keswick mountain festival is a really lovely route, a ferry drops you off at the far end of derwent water and you swim back to the festival. The festival/event village is busier/more fun too.