On 13th August I'll be swimming the length of Windermere - England's longest lake. It's further than I've ever swum in one go - around 17km. That's roughly 7 hours of swimming in nothing but a swimming costume, hat and goggles!

You might know this year marks 10 years since my friend Alice and I swam a relay from one end of Lake Zurich to the other. It was an amazing experience and was formative in so much of my swimming journey. And so this year to mark the anniversary of my last epic swim, I decided set myself another iconic challenge.

The timing of this decision was poignant as about the same time, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. She’s had courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and will also need hormone therapy for a good number of years. Throughout treatment, Alice has been candid and incredibly honest in sharing her experiences - it's been incredibly humbling to see how she's faced this toughest of challenges.

It's also reminded me that I have so much to thank Alice for as it was her encouragement and support 10 years ago that really helped me to believe that I could take on such a challenge when we swam Zurich.

And once again, if I can channel just a small amount of Alice's determination and positivity, I'll be whizzing up Windermere. If I can also raise a few pennies for Alice's nominated charity - Breast Cancer Now - then even better.

I know Breast Cancer Now have been a great support to Alice this year - from providing lots of helpful information about what to expect through treatment, and have been on hand to answer questions and offer support via their national hotline. They also do lots of research work - if you're interested in finding out more, there's a link below:

https://breastcancernow.org/

So, please support me, Alice and Breast Cancer Now by donating whatever you can spare. You'll be spurring me on to just keep swimming and be helping raise some funds for a brilliant charity that does vital work.

Thank you all, and especially thank you Alice!

Much love,

Anna xx

Ps. If funds are tight please consider signing Breast Cancer Now’s petition to get the government to fix the Breast Cancer Screening Process. It could be a life saver for many….

https://breastcancernow.org/get-involved/campaign-us/notimetowaste-sign-our-petition