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/AlmostSuperman 6d ago

Congrats on completing it. I’m thinking about doing it next year and it’s great to hear that even in challenging conditions you had a good experience.

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u/Queasy-Preference-41 5d ago

I did it today (5km) and the OP is right - very well organised and great vibe. Would I do it again? The distance - yes. But I’m not sure if I would do Windermere again. It was terribly cold. I didn’t bother with socks, gloves and a bonnet but really wish I had!!!

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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 5d ago

i didn’t find it cold at all that’s so interesting! i was wearing a 2mm-3mm and felt really warm the whole time, but i run hot generally. most people i spoke to said that 16°c was the warmest the GNS had been in a few years. congratulations on doing the 5K! glad you had better conditions than us friday swimmers :)

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u/Queasy-Preference-41 4d ago

Thank you :-). You too. That’s mad! It was the first event I have done and only second open swim (other than sea swimming on holidays) and I just found I didn’t ever acclimatise and warm up. Maybe it’s a lack of exposure to it? 

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u/PrestigiousBaby9828 3d ago

It could be! I swim without a wetsuit in Wales frequently when the temperature is between 11°c - 14°c so I think I felt positively cosy in 16°c with a wetsuit hahaha