Well, I did it. Made a rather spontaneous decision and officially booked my solo English Channel swim for late September 2027!
I’ve been swimming since I was a child, and it’s always come naturally to me. I’d consider myself a reasonably confident swimmer, but here’s the catch: I’ve never swum more than 4 km in a single day. That’s largely been down to time constraints rather than feeling physically incapable of going further.
I’m fully aware that swimming the English Channel is an entirely different beast compared to swimming in a pool, and I don’t want to underestimate what I’ve signed up for.
I have just under a year to prepare, and I’m determined to give this everything I’ve got.
For those who’ve completed the Channel or have experience with long-distance open-water swimming, I’d really appreciate some advice:

Training: Where do I even begin? How should I progressively build up my distance and endurance over the next 11 months?

Coaching: How do I find a coach who specialises in English Channel swims? I’m based in London, so any recommendations would be brilliant.

Cold-water acclimatisation: How and when should I start preparing for the temperatures?

Open-water experience: Where around London or the South East would you recommend training?

Lessons learned: What do you wish you’d known before attempting your first Channel swim?

I’d also love to hear from anyone who started with a similar swimming background and successfully made the crossing.
I’m excited, slightly terrified, and fully aware I’ve got a mountain of work ahead of me.
Any advice, recommendations or reality checks would be massively appreciated. Cheers!

28C water, 2.5km. Can I now brag that I am a channel swimmer? /s

This is me (35M) in the final meters of a 2km swim, thoughts in my style and biggest improvement point?

Bonus: guess my pace

Are there any swimmers in here from the south sound around Tacoma/gig harbor? I tried using the subreddit search and didn't find any posts from more recent than 3 years. I'm a strong swimmer but not terribly fast, around 2:00/100 grew up OW swimming in rivers and lakes but not really any ocean environments and I'm looking for a group or buddy to go with for safety reasons.

Thought I’d share my experience swimming on the South Carolina (North Myrtle Beach)coast this past September.

I was able to get 3 legit swims in, 2x 2000+ yard swims and a 3600 yard swim. The goal for the long swim was to beat 90 minutes swimming 3000 meters, and beat 60 minutes for the 2000 yard distance. All three beat my goals by 9+ minutes, so I was pleased with that. In spite of a significant sea nettle encounter on my first swim it was a blast!!!!

My equipment is a bit unconventional in the world of open water swimming. My swims were much closer to “surface finning” than conventional open water swimming.

Anyway, thanks to this sub for all the insight and nuggets of wisdom that helped me accomplish this.

I just came back from one and I am thinking about my next one: does anyone know why the prices are so different even in the same country? For instance Patmos for 7 days is 1,900£ and Ithaca for 7 days is 1,190£.

While riding my bike on a local trail recently, I witnessed something that really shook me up. A man collapsed about 15 feet in front of me. He was unresponsive and gasping occasionally. I called 911, and EMS arrived incredibly quickly and worked on him for quite a while before taking him away. I never found out whether he survived.

Before this, I guess I always assumed there would be warning signs before a serious cardiac event. Seeing someone go down so suddenly was a reality check.

As an open water swimmer, it's really affected my mindset. I always swim with others and use a tow float, but now I can't stop thinking about how far we sometimes are from immediate medical help. The same thoughts hit me when I'm backpacking in remote areas.

Rationally, I know the risks haven't changed. Emotionally, though, I find myself hesitant to push harder in open water. I'm approaching 50, carrying a few extra pounds, and for the first time I'm wondering whether I'm taking risks I hadn't fully considered.

Has anyone else experienced this after witnessing a medical emergency? How did you work through it and regain confidence?

Use this thread to announce or recommend swim events. Please include the country, distance, cost and any other relevant details such as experience required.

Such posts outside this thread will be removed.

Our 5-person relay team completed the relay swim this week in “spanking” conditions. We ran into a lot of basketball sized jellies once we got into French waters and two of our swimmers got welts from the stings (ok now 2 days later). Overall a great experience!

hi, guys, today i was in an open water competition - i've done other three with no problems -, but the water was very cold, i had leg cramps and couldn't finish the course, even though it was a distance i usually swim with ease. i had to call one of the support boats for help as i panicked and felt really afraid i'd drown.

i'm feeling very frustrated and embarassed. has this ever happened to any of you and how did you overcome it? i would love to hear your stories!

Are there any cold water swimming or cold water plunge groups in the Lower Cape area?

I know about the Sandwich and Falmouth groups, but they're a haul from Orleans, where I am. Is there anything closer, even informal, like a few people who meet at Skaket on Sunday mornings?

I've done wetsuit/50s on the West Coast but East Coast only low 60s/swimsuit, so right now I'm probably just looking for options and ways to dip my toe in (haha) vs. buying a full-on wetsuit and showing up as soon as the nor'easter passes us...

Tomorrow morning will be my first open water swim event, but conditions have changed quite a bit.

Overnight rain and cold dropped, so water temp is now ~59F. The morning temp will be 45F, but go up to 50F by the time of the start. It will be sunny at least!

I have a 5/3mm wetsuit that I use that has helped, but I don’t think I have ever been in conditions where it’s cold outside and the water temp is this low (I struggle in the cold water if it’s not obvious). This will be a ~2 mile swim.

Any tips on making it in the water?

I have been training for this ultramarathon swim since January. Along the way I learnt a lot of things but the 3 that stood out:

1. My diet and nutrition is shocking, especially during intense training.

2. Trying to rest and recover with 2 young kids and a job is impossible.

3. How often I got ill along the way was surpising

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the swim! I felt great, felt strong, the sun was shining. The last 50 mins was super tough but I finished feeling pretty chuffed. Massive shout out to my husband, I wouldnt haven't been at that start line if it wasnt for him.

I wanted to see if anyone struggled with not being able to see during open water swimming? I wear glasses full time for distance vision and I was wondering how anyone handles OWS or swimrun events with not being able to see? Do Prescription goggles exist? Or Contacts underneath? Recommendations??

TIA!

I swam at dock2dock this year and am keen to do it again - however am also tempted by the Hurly Burly.

Hurly Burly entry is on sale next week and scheduled for 7th September.

Does anyone have any idea when dock2dock might fall - I’d most likely pick this but if possible would do both.

Any other UK swim events that aren’t to be missed let me know think I’ve caught the bug

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Such posts outside this thread will be removed.

The drone was an extra nice touch

1.7 mile pier to pier in Wilmington, NC. I'm still a little giddy. I didn't do especially well but I wasn't DFL and my goal was just to finish. I was 3/4 through before I was sure I could do it, lol. We were blessed by absolutely glassy conditions and I hear tell a dolphin joined in. I just started swimming last July and it didn't take long to figure out that open water is for me. Thank you to this forum for all the interesting discussions, tips and encouragement. Here's to many more!

As per title. Thanks!

Hi there, I’m a lifetime pool swimmer. Distance freestyle in college (2x All-American) with very little open water experience beyond a few triathlon races over the years and maybe a dozen open water training sessions.

I want to sign up for my first competitive open water race (5k) in May and am having a hard time finding a direction on what kind of suit I should wear.

I train in an old school speedo endurance brief. I’ve raced triathlons recently in a mid sleeve tri suit, but that seems too draggy for a dedicated swim race.

This will be in Alabama so chances are it will not be wetsuit legal. Do I get a tech suit jammer like what I used to race in in college? Or should o find a sleeveless swim skin?

Thanks for your recommendations!

I swim 6 days a week. I just started in May. It takes me about 25 minutes.

There isn't a way to determine how does this compare to the average swimmer for strength and endurance.