Taking Part in Dock2Dock 2025

Natasha Sones is training to swim a mile for the first time at the Dock2Dock. Read her swimmer story:

I am so excited to be taking part in this year’s Dock2Dock. The event is celebrating a decade in 2025 and this year will also include a special feature swim: 20km!

Having started with just a few hundred swimmers, there are now five core distances ranging from 1.5km up to the EPIC 15km! I’m doing the 1.5k (approx. 1 mile).

This iconic open water swimming event offers the opportunity to swim in the heart of one of the world’s great cities. Here is a photo of me swimming at London Royal Docks a few months ago.

Challenging myself

I decided to swim this because I want to challenge myself to swim a mile and push myself. I describe myself as ‘definitely more of a dipper than a proper swimmer’. I have swum in this amazing location before and am excited about taking part with lots of other like-minded people. I hope to meet some new people and gain confidence by completing this challenge.

I am nervous about the fact that the 1.5k course swim cut-off time is between 2h45-3h45. I am a slow swimmer but hopefully I should get round in time.

I am going to the event alone and so won’t be doing it with anyone I know but all swimmers are a friendly bunch and I know everyone there will be so encouraging.

Training

My training is going slowly but ok so far. I am regularly swimming all year round in the sea anyway but I have been trying to focus on more endurance in my swims by adding in some pool sessions as well as open water. I am a breaststroke swimmer and heads up usually but I have also had a go at putting my face in a bit to try and do the proper breaststroke breathing. I got myself some new swim goggles and a nose clip so I could learn to put my face in the water. I would love to improve my front crawl too, so I am not just limited to breast stroke.

I’m lucky enough to be visiting lots of different swim spots for the book I’m writing. It is about wild swimming in London and the South East (and will include London’s Royal Docks) so whenever I have been to a new place I am trying to swim further each time. I visited Hangloose Adventure at Bluewater in Kent in April and completed the 200m loop non-stop, as well as another 150m afterwards just swimming around. The temperature was 11 degrees. I also visited Thames Lido in April where I swam lots of lengths in this (heated) venue.

Back in Suffolk where I live, I have recently joined a local flock of Bluetits Chill Swimmers to swim around the pier in Felixstowe (a local seaside town) a couple of times with them. This takes about 20-25 minutes in the water depending on the tide and weather. This is really good practice for my mile open water swim I feel.

By encompassing a mixture of longer swims in the pool with sea swimming, I have noticed my stamina is improving and my swimming is getting a bit stronger. My speed is still quite slow but maybe that will improve with practice. I will continue like this for a while and try to increase my pool training sessions. The weather (and water) is getting warmer now so I can do more open water swim training too.

I have downloaded the 1.5k NOWCA training plan devised by Rick Kiddle, ex-British triathlete and NOWCA Founder. I am going to be following this and plan to work on my pool training as I hadn’t managed to fit much of that in yet.

Dock2Dock

Top tips

·         Get some good goggles and practice in your swim kit, whether it’s wetsuit or “skins” (costume)

·         Get a coach if possible to assess your technique

·         Follow a training plan – the Dock2Dock plans are free, and there’s one for each of the core distances!

·         Find some friends to train with

·         Download the NOWCA Wild and join the Dock2Dock group to connect with other participants

·         Enjoy it and have fun!

Follow me on Instagram to keep up with my training: www.instagram.com/natashastarseeker