Annoyingly (nice positive start there) you're not allowed to do the official Swimathon and fundraise for a charity of your choice (e.g. I'd prefer Mind, or a smaller/more local one) but I'm sticking with the official event & Cancer Research/Marie Curie because:

1. I'm not ashamed to say that if there wasn't this big/proper/nationwide/sign-up/timeslot kind of event and instead I had to do my own... well it probably wouldn't happen (what can I say, I'm just a gal that thrives on pressure and the fear of public humiliation)
   
2. I haven't done a charity fundraiser since I was about 10 years old so let's not overcomplicate things, eh?
   
3. It can't be argued with - cancer does suck. You can't really feel bad donating to Cancer charities now can you?

Anyway, enough of that, more about why you should sponsor me...

• Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am incredibly unhealthy - I drink and smoke too much for starters. Why not sponsor me out of incredulity that I am even attempting this? (However - as some of you already know, I've finally given up smoking/hell has frozen over... see the updates below for more info)
  
• 5km is a reasonably intense distance to travel via the medium of water, we're talking 200 lengths! (200 x 25m) See, I'm not half-arsing this
• And... well, why not make this less about me and my reasons (and my swimming ego) and sponsor this 5km of fun just because you love giving to charity.
  

When? Where? What?

In case you're wondering, the event (the timeslot for me specifically) will be on the 29th April @ 13:00 - 16:00! So if you'd like to find out whether or not I drowned, I will hopefully be posting updates sometime around 4pm, most likely over the world's biggest fish & chips (with the world's nicest pals).

********************** See below for official blurb **********************

On your marks.... Swimathon is back in 2018!

Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie are teaming up and heading down to the pool for Swimathon 2018 – thousands of swimmers, two great causes, one big charity challenge.

Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research, will be involved in Swimathon for the first time. 

Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness and their families, has been Swimathon's charity partner ten times since it launched in 1986 and has raised over £17 million for the charity through the event during that time. 

By taking part in the world’s biggest fundraising swimming event you will be fundraising for two incredible causes.

A challenge for everyone. A #SwimForAll