Can we swim 20 miles in just 30 days?

Shared between 2 of us, we each will have to swim 805 lengths inside 30-day time limit. That's a grand total of 1610 lengths or about 100 times around Old Trafford football pitch. 

Why are we doing this?

Dave and I have different challenges to overcome, but we also have something in common, we want to conquer them. 

I want to beat my phobia of water and Dave is working on his rehabilitation. We are using our story to help raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Society. The idea for this challenge came when I came across the Alzheimers society's Swim for Dementia challenge. 

Who are we

Hi, I'm Dave and swimming is a vital part of my rehabilitation.

Last October I had a nasty motorbike accident that resulted in a limb-threatening injury. However, after three operations, a skin graft and an intramedullary nail in my tibia, we are working hard for a positive future with my leg still attached. As you can imagine, the complexity of the injuries has led to many range & strength problems. Swimming is a vital aspect of my rehabilitation and therapy (both physical and mental)

Swimming for me is predominantly an upper-body activity at the moment, but, is amazing for gaining strength in the leg and building range of movement too. Swimming 10 miles is going to be an extreme challenge and to be honest, I am not sure if I can do it, but, there is only one way to find out. 

Hi, I'm Stephie and I have a phobia of water. 

After years of suffering from an awful phobia of water this April, I decided to learn to swim to help my partner with his recovery and to overcome a phobia at the same time. Dave's accident has been a real jolt for us and kick-started some serious ambition to tick off some bucket list items. For me, that's conquering my fear of water & learning to scuba dive.

Dave and I started to swim daily, after much practice and determination, the panic attacks started to become less frequent and I've started swimming further, faster and more confidently. Swimming 10 miles is going to be a massive challenge for me, but I have set my goal and I will get there. 

Becoming a strong confident swimmer will enable me to pass my PADI diving certificate, so this challenge is going to give me such a boost forward & helping raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Society is such great motivation. 

How does this work?

The original challenge is to swim 10 miles. That works out at 16100 meters. At The Warwickshire's 20-meter pool, it works out at 805 lengths each for the challenge. 1610 lengths in total. 

We will start our journey on the first of August and have 30 days to complete this challenge

To recap, we are both swimming the 10 miles, in other words, our goal is to do a combined 32200 meters. We both have different goals and feel we both have a better chance of getting there with each other's support.

What your fundraising will support

• £300 means over 1,800 people can access Talking Point, our online forum. Here people can learn from each other experiences, share their frustrations and their knowledge of local services.
• £95 provides a telephone-based Dementia Adviser for a full day. Providing essential support to those affected by dementia
• £15 turns four ordinary citizens into superhero Dementia Friends! There is a stigma attached to living with dementia and Dementia Friends facilitates societal change, helping people understand the impact on people’s lives