Turning the Tide
ENGLAND TO FRANCE - 21 HOURS 20 MINS
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****SEE ANNA ON THE BBC****
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Three years ago I was an occasional pool swimmer, logging 20 lengths or so at my local baths a couple of times a week. In 2006 I took up open water swimming in order to take on the challenge of swimming across the English Channel. Last October I left my job as head of communications for a round the world yacht race in order to take on a number of extreme swims and to raise £50,000 for three charities in the process.
My campaign spans 18 months and started with the Finnish Ice Swimming Championships in February 2009. I competed against a field of over 600 international swimmers at the annual event which took place in a frozen lake in Imatra on the Finnish-Russian Border. At the beginning of August I will be competing in the British Long Distance Swimming Association’s Double Windermere Race, two lengths of the largest natural lake in England totalling 21 miles.
At the end of August I swam from Europe to Asia in the annual race across the Hellespont Straits in the wake of Lord Byron who swam the same stretch of water some 200 years ago.
On 27-28 September I successfully completed a solo cross Channel swim, the Everest of marathon swimming – covering 27 miles in 21 hoours and 20 minutes.
A successful Channel swim takes months of gruelling training and more than a little luck. I'll have to deal with strong tides and waves, unpredictable weather and jellyfish along with the 600 commercial vessels and ferries passing through the relatively narrow Dover Straits every day.
In June 2010 I was hoping to copete in the Round Manhattan Marathon Swim but unfortunately I was rejected by the selection committee in November 2009. I will be taking on some other equally challenging swims in 2010 to reach my fundraising target. Further details to be posted early in 2010 so keep watching this space.
Follow my progress here as I tackle some of the world’s toughest swims to raise £50,000 for three very special charities. Thanks for your support.
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Help Anna reach her target of raising £50,000 for three great charities. All donations, great or small, will make a big difference. You don't need to get wet or cold to help. Just click on the link below:
