Hello,

*** UPDATE: I HAVE NOW UPGRADED TO PENGUIN GOLD, SO A HARDER CHALLENGE! ***

I was diagnosed with ME 11 years ago and started wild swimming 10 months ago. Sea swimming seems to alleviate some of my symptoms so I have decided to take on the Penguin Challenge: https://polarbearchallenges.com.

The Gold Penguin Challenge requires me to wild swim throughout the winter months (November to March), covering at least 1,000m per month, including at least 2 X 250m swims. So I have added distances to my usual cold water swimming! (Let's see how long my ME will let me do this for...)

I mostly swim in the North Sea and its tidal pools with the Wild Skins, a super friendly wild swimming group based in the East Neuk of Fife. The Penguin Challenge will definitely push me out of my comfort zone when it comes to cold exposure!

Please note, I use the term swimming loosely... I might just bob for a while... It is all health dependant!

A little bit about ME Research UK:

"....doctors do not treat us and science does not study us. How could a disease this common and this devastating have been forgotten by medicine?" Jennifer Brea. 

ME Research UK believes that only biomedical research can find the causes of ME/CFS, improve diagnosis and treatment, and, ultimately, arrive at a cure. That’s why research is our focus. We've awarded 57 grants since 2000 and invested over £2.2million. But research is expensive and becoming more so every day. 

That’s the challenge we face, and that’s why we need your help.