8 Weeks to Windemere

8 Weeks to Windemere

By Karen Smith

August 18, 2020

With Lockdown affecting lots of things, Phil Evans had put his Windermere on the back burner, however with 8 weeks to go it was time to take it serious. Phil got in touch and I wrote an intense build up plan to take him to his Windermere Solo date.

On Tuesday 18th August a nervous Phil started his swim at Fell Foot Park. The Lake was smooth and despite being overcast with a bit of drizzle it was perfect, with a gentle breeze behind us.

Phil made an uncomfortable start and it was a good 3 hours in before he felt comfortable. His feeds took 5 minutes which would ultimately add around 45 minutes to his overall swim and he had already started asking "how far have we gone".

Phil made the half way marker in 3 hours and 30 minutes. I jumped in for one of Phil's swim legs which is a nice boost for swimmers. As Phil progressed from Bass Rock down to Ambleside the wind picked up, but it was in his favour and was really knocking down the kms to go.

At 6 hours and 39 minutes Phil had completed his longest swim ever, Solo Windermere. Very happy for it to end. He also managed to raise over £3000 for a Homeless Charity in Manchester.