Category: Masters Swimming

I was lucky enough to have snagged a spot in Henley Swim’s Thames Marathon on 14 of August 2022. It was a cloudless, gorgeous sunrise as I pulled into Marlow for the race packet pick-up and coach transfer from the event village to the start.

There were over 600 swimmers – including me – participating in the full marathon distance of 13km, and about 200 participating in the half distance of 5.5km which I swam last year.

Wetsuits were, thanks to the heat wave, made optional, but I stayed in mine for buoyancy and sun protection more than anything else!

The swim stretched along a beautiful part of the Thames from Henley to Marlow. I certainly wasn’t bored while swimming: there were gorgeous homes, grazing livestock, people walking along the river, and houseboats to keep me entertained. With three locks to cross on foot (with amazingly stocked fuel stations at each one!), the swim flew by. I said to some cows as I paddled along, “This might be the best way to spend a warm Sunday in August.”

Spectators were able to join at the final lock, about 1,800m from the finish, and walk alongside the river the rest of the way. It was so festive and a great moral boost.

The finish line was upbeat and full of great food options and the ever-important medal and t-shirt.

For anyone curious about the swim, both distances sell out early – I booked my spot last year in January. The first wave starts around 7am, so you will need to spend the night in Marlow the night before if you are relying on public transport to get you there.

I did most of my training in the pool mixed in with open water sessions at West Reservoir Centre. My goal was to swim at least the marathon distance in total each week, and this made the actual swim more than doable.

I swam to raise money for Swim Tayka, a charity that holds learn-to-swim and water awareness lessons in disadvantaged communities around the world. 

My results: 4 hours, 6 minutes, including about 30 minutes eating Haribo at various fuel stations.  I was 163/615 overall, and 50/262 in the female category.

The bank holiday on Monday 29 August meant there was no pool training so a posse of Penguin masters swimmers headed to Divers Cove in Surrey for an open water swim instead.

This was new venue for all of us, and it’s an impressive set-up with two courses – 650m and 450m – changing rooms, toilets, hot tubs and saunas. It’s also a glorious setting for a swim in the early evening sun.

Divers Cove

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The Divers Cove website gave the water temperature as 24.6C, the board at reception said 21.6C but in reality it was cooler still. We were mostly without wetsuits and while penguins (the birds) are hardy creatures, Sarah’s lips were turning blue by the time she’d swum two laps!

Everyone else tolerated the chilly water more comfortably and, with laps completed, took advantage of the raised observation deck for some good old-fashioned jumping in. Never too old to make a splash!

Find out more about swimming at Divers Cove.

By Penguin masters swimmer, Jennifer Gambrell.

Last weekend, I joined 800 others to swim the Henley Thames Marathon. I swam the ‘half marathon’ distance, which covered 5.5km from Hurley to the Marlow Suspension Bridge. There was also a 10k swim option, which started closer to Henley and then joined in with the half distance route.

This was my first open water swim. I signed up in the middle of lockdown as something to look forward to and motivate me to get back in the pool once we were able. The river setting was good for a beginner as sighting was straightforward, there were minimal wakes and currents, and the multiple start-waves created generous spacing between swimmers.

The views while swimming were lovely. We passed by gorgeous residential areas, a grassy, tree-lined towpath, and a church garden where wedding photos were taking place. Spectators could walk the majority of the route, which was a lot of fun. Boat traffic was minimal, and the race had organized plenty of staff in kayaks to keep us safe and to one side of the river. The water temperature was around 18 degrees – most swimmers were in wetsuits, as the organizers required, though they did have a limited number of non-wetsuit slots. I’m far too acclimated to warm, indoor pools, so it was the wetsuit for me!

At the end of the race, I made sure to drink a can of Coke, which many fellow Penguins recommended to me as the ultimate cure for any river bacteria I might have come in contact with. This turned out to be sound advice. Now, back to the pool!