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ALL THE BEST EQUIPMENT FOR A BETTER SWIM TOP SWIM BOOKS


If you’re training for a long-distance swim, you’ll need more than energy bars and stroke practice to keep you going, you’ll need solid gold inspiration. Look no further than our favourite swimming books


DOVER SOLO: SWIMMING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL Marcia Cleveland MMJ Press, 1999, doversolo.com


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A must for any aspiring Channel swimmer, Dover Solo is one of


the fi rst items I pack when going on holiday. I fi rst read it back in 2006, while gathering data on the English Channel, since then I have re-read it many times. The book is well-written, and shows


how to prepare for this 'Everest of swims' in a simple and digestible way. Marcia covers the history of the swim, as well as every aspect of her personal journey: her beginnings in the sport; her needs, fears and innermost thoughts and her goals and targets along the way. While the book quickly brings the


diffi culties of the challenge into sharp focus, it remains clear that this is just one


HOW TO PREPARE FOR THIS 'EVEREST OF SWIMS' IN A SIMPLE AND DIGESTIBLE WAY


YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Glenn Stout Houghton Miffl in Harcourt, 2009


Subtitled, ‘How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World’, this recent book tells the story of the fi rst woman to swim the Channel in 1926. Half-deaf and –


worst of all – a woman, Ederle was then a very unlikely candidate for sporting success, but her triumph paved the way for other sportswomen of her generation. This reverent book honours her place in swimming history.


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THIS ISSUE: THE ENGLISH CHANNEL From the fi rst men and women to swim it, to others who have beaten the odds, these stories of Channel victory are sure to inspire you, even if you’re only swimming to the other end of the local lido.


approach to swimming the Channel and not the defi nitive answer to a training plan. One is not overburdened with details, yet there are suffi cient particulars regarding training camps, goals, feeding, body changes, self discipline and psychology to remind any aspirant of the task ahead. The reader soon learns that Marcia is a regular person (not a six-hour-a-day pool professional) with a whole host of commitments and responsibilities including full-time occupation. Driving the story’s narrative is her acknowledgement that there is no quick fi x to Channel swimming; her belief is that the key to potential success is to “acclimatise, acclimatise, acclimatise”. And she does – the penultimate chapter covers the actual swim in an hour-by-hour account, leaving little to the imagination. If you are an average man or woman with such a dream, then this book will inspire


you to train, prepare and envisage your success. It is not the only book out there on Channel swimming, but it is certainly one of the best, and a must for any marathon swimmer’s bookshelf. ∆


Review by Mark Robson, aspirant Channel swimmer. See Mark’s blog, featuring other book reviews at bit.ly/markswim


SWIMMING TO ANTARCTICA Lynne Cox


Random House, 2004


One of the youngest people ever to swim the English Channel, Lynne started open water swimming at the age of 13. She hit the headlines in 1987, when she swam more than a


mile in the 32°F waters of the Bering Strait in an attempt to raise awareness of world peace. Her stories of adversity and determination are an inspiration – proof that swimming can change the world.


THE CROSSING Kathy Watson Headline, 2000


This riveting biography tells the story of daredevil Matthew Webb, who – in 1875 – completed the fi rst- ever Channel crossing in 21hrs 45mins, using breast stroke. Kathy


Watson’s book is interesting in many regards, especially for an understanding of the contemporary struggles of a long-distance swimmer – innovating, surviving, making a living – as well as the life story of an extraordinary man.


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