There are seven of us who will be on the early train to London, in addition our Captain Lynda who is a Specialist Cardiac Nurse based at Southampton Hospital, will be swimming in the Mediterranean on the day, bravely promoting the cause in slightly warmer waters. Our group also includes a qualified swimming coach/physiotherapist (post-swim treatment, anyone?) who has coached most of us at some point. We Hope her proud, although we have little chance of keeping up with her on the swim!

As we plough up and down the lanes at the Southampton University Jubilee pool during our weekly Swimfit training sessions, we've been asking ourselves:

Why are we going to submit ourselves to the ordeal of swimming one or even TWO miles in the chilly Serpentine waters? In September.  Wearing less-than-flattering wetsuits.  And all under the curious gaze of passing Londoners and tourists.

The answer is that some of us are professionally with the Cardiac Centre, while others are friends and supporters from a wide range of backgrounds.

And some of us have close family members who have benefitted from the fantastic care provided by the Centre, and from the training and facilities funded by Heartbeat.  We feel raising money for the charity, we are giving back a little to those who have given so much to help our loved ones and to support us. It's hard to put into words what it means to have a reassuring chat to someone in the Intensive Care Unit at 2am, or when a staff member sees the numbing effect of distress, and takes the time to patiently explain again -and again, so that we really understand what's happening. And for those that come to the Centre from as far away as the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, it's such a relieve to be able to stay at Heartbeat House, right across the road from where their loved ones are being treated.

So please, help Wessex Heartbeat by donating to sponsor our team - The Cardiac Crawlers!