NIGHT SWIMMING

Ever the glutton for punishment, would a 24-hour swim finally be the challenge to defeat Brunty?

- MARTYN BRUNT

I remember doing Ironman Lanzarote a few years ago and seeing a placard on the side of the run which said: “We don’t do this because it’s easy — we do it because we thought it would be easy.” More than any other slogan I’ve seen, I feel this encapsulates my athletic ‘career’ - constantly underestimating the scale of the challenge I have signed up for and taking to the start in a state of blissful ignorance, until the bulldozer of reality arrives.

As regular readers will know, every year I like to add some kind of daft sporting challenge to my regular triathlon calendar, partly to give myself something to fear as it looms ever nearer and partly because setting new goals for myself makes my inevitable failures feel fresh and surprising. This year has been no different thanks to something I’ve just done called Swim The Night.

In 2024, fresh from completing the 21 mile Windermere Double endurance swim, I was looking for something that was easier, but sounded harder, and I happened upon a swim that was only three miles longer, but I had 24 hours to do it in rather than all in one go. I entered. What’s the worst that could happen..?