A Guide to Choosing Your Challenge

What to expect before diving in:

Want to take on the ultimate swimming challenge, but not sure which distance is right for you? We’ve broken down each distance challenge to help you decide.

The 1k Challenge

The 1k Challenge distance is a swimming challenge open to all participants, that would suit swimmers looking to build up longer distances or go for a PB.

Our 2017 1k participants saw a quickest time of 16:02, with the more generously paced times of up to 50 minutes. The average time for the 1k Challenge in 2017 was 26 minutes.

The Half Marathon 5k

The Half Marathon 5k distance is a significant step up from the 1k swimming challenge distance wise. You can expect to really challenge yourself in this distance -- last year’s winning time was 1:26:49, with other participants taking three hours to complete the swim. The average time was 2 hours 01 minute.

This is a serious swimming challenge, and as such you can expect to make a real commitment to training both in and out of the pool.

Whilst the Half Marathon 5k is a considerably longer distance than most Triathlon swim event distances (including the Ironman swim distance of ‘just’ 3.8k), we’ve found this length to be the most popular distance. Triathletes especially, have targeted this challenge to help build swimming endurance.

The Marathon 10k

The Marathon 10k distance is the ultimate swimming challenge. As with all distances, this event is open to all, from elite to everyday athletes. Our quickest individual 2017 Marathon 10k came in at 2:33:16, with the lengthier paced swims clocking in around 5 hours. No small feat! The average individual time was 3 hours 45 minutes

The Marathon 10k can also be tackled as a team of two -- each team of two to complete 10k in any combination of 1k sets.

Before taking on any of these distances, we would recommend getting into the pool at least twice a week, maintaining an overall strength and cardio fitness regime, and making sure you get plenty of rest and hydration in between.

Still on the fence? Our team is here to help. Reach out to info@marathonswims.com and we’ll help with any questions you may have about the event and training.

See you in the #PoolOfChampions 10 and 11 November 2018. ENTER here.