A report on the recent Swim Oxford Swimrun by Fred Newton, editor of swimrun.com Almost hundred of us lined up on the grassy river bank of the River Thames, the second longest river in the UK. It had just gone 7am and there was a low level of chatter and a nervous anticipation hung in the air on a cool autumnal morning. For in a few moments we would be entering the Thames and starting the Lock to Lock Swimrun – a 18km Full Stump (Full Course) and a 9km Half Stump (Sprint Course). Swimrun is a friendly sport but at the precise moment we were individuals preparing ourselves to race. Race Directo ..read more

Although we would prefer our articles to reflect the many ways the water helps us, physically and emotionally, we must also acknowledge that we swim through the scene of a crime. The Red Rebel’s visually striking protest in the Thames at Port Meadow in May focused attention on this crime. Crime – do we exaggerate? At last (for the moment) the newspapers are full of news about the business of our water companies – although not as full of this news as the rivers and seas are full of sewage after moderate to heavy rainfall. From these papers, we discover that: as we obediently put away our hosep ..read more

Following on from her first post, Cold water has changed my life, Annike Surry describes her ongoing journey – the evolution she has made from cold water dipper to open water swimmer, and the life-changing benefits, mental and physical, that continue to have a positive impact on her health. You may think that swimming in cold water is one of the last things you would dream of doing and you may question the sanity of those who decide to take an open-water swim in the coldest months of the year. Some of you may have read my post from March last year, on how cold water has changed my life and be ..read more

My name is Aerin Bowers, and I am an Open Water Swimmer from Rossland, British Columbia, Canada. I am training to swim the 26km Sri Chinmoy Lake Zurich Marathon Swim on August 9, 2022. This is how I came to swim a beautiful stretch of the Thames on Saturday, July 23, in one of the most memorable swimming experiences of my life. I’ve been a swimmer most of my life, and was born into an extended family of swimmers, lifeguards, clown divers, lake lovers, and pool rats. I swam competitively until I was a teenager, when other high school activities (and boys) took priority. I’m also a passionate sk ..read more

The Red Rebel Brigade’s silent scream of protest about the health of our rivers was incredibly powerful. It inspired this piece from wild-swimmer Stanley Ulijaszek who came perilously close to death when he contracted an illness after swimming in the Thames near London. A drowning lady floats downstream in the Thames at Port Meadow, Oxford, her blood flowing with the current of the river. An Ophelia, a Lucia di Lammermoor… As an opera-lover, when I see this image, the resonance with Lucia is immediate and powerful. Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti’s opera, is based on Sir Walter Scott’s Bride o ..read more

Thank you to all who took part in this years wonderful 4k swim. Here are some images from the day and some reflections from the organiser and participants. To see more images of this lovely event have a look at our photo gallery from the day www.lock-to-lock-4k.swimoxford.co.uk where you can browse and purchase/download. It is always a marvel to witness the many swimmers making their way downstream. The glistening waters in the morning sun add to the very colourful and vibrant spectacle of tow floats and swim hats. We, the support crew, vigilantly observe the motion of the open water swimmers ..read more

Thinking of doing the wonderful Lock to Lock SwimRun this September? Here is a beginners' guide to understanding swimrun gear, as well as money-saving suggestions for getting by without the big outlay. The Lock to Lock SwimRun has two options: a half stump and a full stump. Half stump consists of 1.2k swim, 7k run. Full stump is a 1.2k swim, 7k run, 1.6k swim, 450m dash, 1k swim, 6k run. If you’re doing the half-stump, you won’t need any new kit. You can swim skins (let them know on your entry form; you’ll need a tow float, though) or in a regular wetsuit, and you will swap your wetsuit for y ..read more

Two swimmers talk through the reasons to do the Lock to Lock 10k this year, or rather one swimmer tries to persuade her friend to join her and just do it. One evening in September 2016, I tossed a stick into the river at Bablock Hythe, the starting point for the Lock-to-Lock 10k that year. My two swimmer friends and I watched the stick, anticipating that it would leave on the current, expecting it branch off and drift downstream while we talked of our misgivings about swimming the 10k in a few days. We had many misgivings to discuss, and the stick stuck around to listen. We checked our plans ..read more

My name is Annika Surry and I live close to the beach in Greve, Denmark. We use the beach a lot, summer and winter. In 2004, I lost all my hair – on my entire body – probably due to stress and lack of sleep. In 2013, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, which gives me cognitive challenges, fatigue and muscle and neuro pains. Following my diagnosis of MS, I began a new exercise regime to keep my body fit and mobile. Initially, I exercised twice a week. Finding that the more I trained, the better I felt – and that with this, my mobility also improved – I pushed myself to exercise between 4 ..read more

We came across Melanie on Facebook: Against the tide - blind wild swimming My wild swimming journey as a blind swimmer - challenging perceptions, accessibility, reaching for new goals and new horizons. That's quite something, isn't it? Blind wild swimming. (So many of us zig-zag across the river enough even with good vision...) Wanting to know more of what it’s like to be a partially-sighted wild swimmer, we followed links from Melanie's posts and discovered that Melanie is a gold, silver and bronze medal-winning Paralympian in the swimming pool. Amazing! You can hear about that and her other ..read more