Kate to take on triple swim crown challenge for charity
After joining Ironman triathlete Sean Conway on a number of his swims last year, landscape architect Kate Richards has been inspired to take on her own challenge - by tackling a triple long distance swim test.
She will get underway this weekend (June 22) when she takes part in the Aquasphere Chillswim which involves swimming the 5.25 mile length of Coniston Water in the Lake District.
On July 13, she will tackle Chillswim Ullswater, which involves a 7.5 mile swim from one end of the lake to the other. The final challenge will be Chillswim Windermere on August 31, which is the longest swim in England at 11 miles. Completing all three events will give her the Chillswim Triple Crown.
Kate has been training hard for the events over the last six months and as well as practising in her local swimming pool, she has been building up her open water swimming at Park in the Past near Hope, and Llyn Padarn in Eryri National Park.
Kate is taking on the triple challenge to raise awareness and money for Surfers Against Sewage, the environmental charity, which is based in Cornwall, works to keep UK coasts and rivers safe and clean.
She said: “I’m really excited to be taking part in these challenges and to be raising money for such an important cause.
“The natural environment is at the centre of both my professional and personal life, as a landscape architect and a keep open water swimmer, so the protection and enhancement of our rivers, lakes and seas is really important to me.
“I started open water swimming over ten years ago and since then have swum in lakes, lochs, rivers, seas and docks. Some swims are purely for my own enjoyment and wellbeing, while others challenge my endurance. Making time to swim, even when life is pretty busy, is so important for both my mental and physical health.
“I used to swim in the River Dee and off the North Wales coast, but in recent years the water quality has become a concern. But the long-term effects of sewage, microplastics and road and field run-off on wildlife are far more dire.
“Surfers against Sewage are a grass roots charity campaigning for the protection and conversation of oceans, monitoring water quality and lobbying government and industry, across the UK.
“This year I want to raise awareness of these issues by supporting them and challenged myself to swim the lengths of three lakes in the Lake District this summer – a total of more than 23 miles.
“I’ve been building up my distance over the last few months, getting into the pool at 5.30am a couple of times a week before the school run, and going for training swims in a local lake on the weekends. .
Last summer, Kate took part in Aquasphere Chillswim Coniston to raise funds for The True Venture Foundation, which improves opportunities for children and young people from North Wales who want to compete competitively in sport.
She was inspired to take on the swim after joining Sean Conway, an ambassador for the True Venture Foundation and an endurance world record holder, on previous swims as part of his own attempt to swim 105 Ironman distance triathlons consecutively and make a new world record.
Kate’s JustGiving page is here.