On Tuesday 25th June it was Uswim's Dave's turn to step up the training and complete an 8 hour swim. His training programme was planned 18 months ago and despite an extremely busy season he had stuck to the plan making sure the milestone swims happened. With the full support of the team we headed off to Windermere.

I am a big believer that less is more and it is about quality over quantity so with the programme it had ensured Dave was rested and in good shape for this important swim. It was also the first time the team was all together and our chance to discuss our Roles for Daves English Channel Solo attempt in July.

There was never any doubt that this swim would not end until Dave had been swimming for 8 hours. We chose not to waste time driving to one end of the Lake and simply dropped Dave in outside the Marina and off he went. We used this opportunity to confirm his feeds and the equipment we would use on the day. All crucial and very important things to manage. There is no use getting to the Big Day and we discover the feed line isn't long enough or when he has been swimming a while he cant open his drink bottle. Whilst we guide swimmers all the time, all these considerations are individual and what works for one doesn't for another.

Dave had a great day for this swim and had the ultimate boost of his escort swimmer Graham jumping in alongside him which is the plan, weather permitting for the Channel. Nothing better than someone jumping in along side to give you a much needed lift. There are specific rules regarding escort swimmers, no touching the swimmer, dont swim ahead and you can only actually get in at certain times too.

So 8 hours later and we finished back where we started. Dave felt strong and the feeding plan was confirmed. The team all identified their Roles and it was a fabulous boost for DQ. Next stop Dover. Huge thanks to Nick, Graham and Babeth for their continual support and positive encourgement. What a team!