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The Blueseventy Henley Classic 2013
Being able to join 800 other swimmers at 4.30 in the morning in Henley
To swim the World Famous Henley Royal
Regatta course
Is one of those special moments i will remember forever
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Okay, lets lay out the swim for you as we walk down the tow path at 4.14am on a Sunday morning , The blueseventy Henley
Classic is a 2.1km swam over the Royal Henley Regatta course, The
classic swim is a unique opportunity to swim one of the most famous and
beautiful stretches of open water in the world, in fact the event is . Listed
in the Top 100 swims in the world. The Henley Swim is without doubt among the
most iconic challenges..Well that’s what the PR said about the event...let’s
see if it’s true..
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| How about this a view as you are about to start a swim..!! So Paul left his home in the midlands around at 12 midnight to travel the 100 miles or so to Henley , and yes we did say midnight .!!! , A key feature of the Henley classic event is that you arrive in darkness (check in around 2.30 am) and then start the walk ½ a mile walk to the start around 4am and dusk starts......
Paul said everything about this event is like no other swim I have ever done , everything about is a slightly surreal experience, but at the same so exciting to be part off, The
torch-light walk to the start, the mist swirling above the river, the moon full
and radiant, the sun just threatening to burst from behind the hill, gives the
whole event the feeling of a pagan festival rather than a seriously tough
physical test the walk down as the mist came of the surrounding fields ,really
felt nervous and exciting at the same time….
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| the Greens await there the signal to enter the water. |
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| the Blue wave... are the 3rd heat to go...all are looking a bit nervous as they watch the white wave warm up |
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| The White Fast wave to water...and 4.35. as the sunrise appears, you and the 800 other swimmers most in wetsuits or some like Paul are just wearing costumes are led down the tow path by the torch carrier, then Once the safety briefing is completed you have to enter the inky black water at 4.30 am and wait for the starters gun |
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| The Course . looks Simple enough..;-), |
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| the white wave is off... it was manic for the 1st 5 minutes or so |
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The swim its self was hard as the 2.1k distance is held
upstream , to make it just that little bit tougher , the swims are set of in
waves from elite to fun swimmers , Paul was in the performance wave of 120
swimmers that set off at 4.32 am ,
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| 99% of them fast wet suited swimmers Paul was in his trunks , Paul words…the start was manic, arms and legs and swimmers swimming over and through , it was just a big splash for the 1st 10 minutes, but after that it settled down , and it became easier to swim and race , |
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| also in was getting lighter the closer we got to Henley finish…!! The water temp was good at 17 degrees so did not feel cold at all…almost warm, |
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| when I finally finished..!!! I looked around to the beautiful view Henley …it was truly breathtaking at that time of the morning… |
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| another lovely thing about the event , is once you have finished you have chance to cheer on other swimmers as you make that lovely walk back down the tow path... |
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| it really is breath taking site , to see the swimmers finish in such amazing surrounding, and still you have pinch yourself as its still only 5.15am on a Sunday morning. |
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| and still they swim, wave , after wave...almost 800 people swam this morning, from all over the UK |
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| the lifeguards and safety crew did an amazing job in keeping safe and swimming straight |
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| no better feeling , as when the race is over... to gentle walk back to get changed whilst watching your fellow swimmers completely the Henley classic |
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Paul pictured with his idol – Graham Bell, 5 times Olympic
Skier,
who also swam at the Henley Classic.
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| Rick`s Basher had good swim on the day .. somehow he managed to get 2nd place in the Traditional section to you and me, he was one the swimmers who chose to swan in Skin and not a rubber straight jacket .;-) |
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| would i come again and swim the classic..??? absolutely , the whole event from start to finish felt like something very special to be part off.. the event was fantastically run, no problems in parking, changing , leaving your belonging safe, having something to eat before and after the event , everything was easy to do for the swimmer. We loved how you can hand your car keys in for safe keeping and collect them after the swim, that might not sound important to some, but i know its a worry to all open water swimmers , it was a really nice touch , |
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| all in all , i can safely say this is one the best open water swims i have been lucky enough to swim , with out question i will swim it again in the future , if you fancy the the classic swim in 2014 , here is tip , book early it gets sold out in days.. http://www.henleyswim.com/ |
I,ve been very lucky this summer , in being able do 10 open water events around UK. plus 2 way English Channel Relay swim, all have in their own way have been amazing swims to be part of,i loved doing the end to end swims of Windermere ,Contison , i was very proud to do the Swim4life event , but the Henley Classic event has to Be the stand out event of the year for me...the whole experience from start to finish was something totally different to any swim i`ve done before..it has to be on your wish list of swims to do for 2014 for sure..
The Music got taken off
the Video below so we added again in this version
Here Comes The Sun.....
Until we get time to give a full report on what was a great swim event ,
Maybe the best Open Water swim in the UK..?
this can act as a little teaser to get you in the mood ,
a little Ricks Video of the swim , with a little help from the Beatles...enjoy
( just click on the arrow in the picture above to see and hear )
