Why a 10K Swim Is Easier Than You Might Think

Training and Raceday Tips

Neil Mapes at the Loch Morlich 10k swim start line. Image credit Go Swim Loch Morlich

Running or swimming a marathon next year?

Have you got your race calendar booked for 2022 yet? If you have to choose between running a marathon and swimming a marathon, I would choose swimming.

This year I completed both challenges within the space of two weeks. In relative terms, it is easier to swim a marathon than you might think. Neither challenges are ‘easy.’ Nor should they be tackled without sufficient training and experience. But the 10K swim marathon distance appears to be more daunting and harder for folks to comprehend than running 26.2miles.

We all probably know someone who has run a marathon with approximately 1.3 million people completing the distance annually. Far fewer of us know someone who has swum a marathon, with just over 27,000 people on the LongSwims database. By completing a swimming marathon you will certainly be entering a more unique club, and it might just be easier than you think.

Loch Morlich and beach towards sunset the night before the race. Image by Neil Mapes

10k swim training and race day tips

I am a long way from being an elite or endurance swimmer. And I am not a swim coach, there are plenty of…