This summer I’ll be taking part in a 5.5km endurance swim and raising money for the Macmillan cancer charity. 

Macmillan aim to “provide vital life-changing services to people living with cancer and their families.”

It’s important to maintain our support for charities, especially in such challenging times so any donation you’re able to spare large or small will go a long way.

The Swim on August 13th 2023 involves an early start in the Thames and proceeds downstream from Henley-on-Thames to Marlow.

It’s a step up from my first two charity swims at roughly double the distance so training has already begun! I’m really excited to be taking part in this event and will be posting on this page as well on my social pages, so please check back for progress and updates on training as well as the actual event.

Thank you for your support!

JX

Training Update 24/06/23::

Training is going really well for The Thames Half Marathon 5.5km endurance swim. I’m getting in the pool about four times a week and completing all the training sessions from the programme I’m following. However due to work and life commitments fitting in rest days is a bit more complicated!

As you may well know this a Charity Swim for Macmillan cancer support. Thank you for all your support and to everyone that’s sponsored me, with your help I’ve now raised £458! I’d like to raise more so have increased my goal to £500 so anything you can contribute will be greatly appreciated.. 🙏🏽🏊🏽‍♂️🌊

Cheers J.

#macmillan #TeamMacmillan #thamesmarathon

Post Swim:

I began the year on crutches having sustained an Avulsion Fracture and a complete tear of the ATL in November 2022. I was determined to get fit again as quickly as possible and not let this define my experience in 2023, so whilst in recovery I began thinking about doing another charity swim.

I discovered The Thames Half Marathon - which in Swimming terms is 5.5km - roughly twice any distance I’ve swam before. I found a 12-week training programme to get me prepared for the event and set about the journey.

Over the summer I became so focused on this event and at every stage through training and the event itself I would think of my friends, family and people I didn’t know who have had or have cancer and are bravely facing the battle. My experience of injury or illness isn’t in any way comparable, but this is dedicated to them.

I wrote down the month before the event that I wanted to get a time under 01:29:56 and I finished with a chip time of 01:24:37 whilst my Garmin logged 01:23:31 (actual swimming time). I was also pleased to finish 12th out of 289 Swimmers in the Half Marathon.

As a vegetarian the whole training and the event was fuelled entirely by a plant-based diet. Salad with beans and cashew nuts tastes weird at 5am, but that is exactly what helped power me through the water.

I hope this doesn’t read as self-congratulatory post, my intention is to inspire people. Even when you’re seemingly beaten, never, ever give up. Aim for something, set targets and work hard, you’d be surprised what you can do.

🏊🏽‍♂️ 🌊 🌱

Thank you all for your support.

J