A 33.3km ultra swim in Croatia brought tears to my eyes and was the event of a lifetime

Water is leaking into my goggles. I blink a couple of times and try to figure out which lens is the culprit.

Both? It’s strange, as these goggles have done many miles in training and never leaked before. I give them a prod.

Hang on… Oh. Ok. It takes me a second to realise the salt water is tears. Actual tears.

Yep. Day three of UltraSwim 33.3 and I’m having a moment… Luckily I’m arriving at the 3.8km feed station – a boat moored in the stunning blue bay ahead.

Before I can completely give in to the demons telling me to stop I see pro swimmer and event ambassador Andy Donaldson and the crew from Precision Hydration dishing out energy gels and carbohydrate drinks.

“Helen! Looking good! Still smiling!” they shout. Still smiling?! Can’t they see how hard I’m finding this..? 

Swimming but Ultra

Let’s backtrack a little. You might be wondering what an UltraSwim event is. Put simply, it’s the distance of the English Channel (21mi / 33.3km) swum over four days in a beautiful yet sometimes challenging environment. The idea is to give swimmers the opportunity to complete the iconic distance, but in a slightly more manageable and (dare I tempt fate and say it), fun way. 

This is the sixth iteration of the event and takes us around the coastline of Croatia over four days of swims. Other locations are Montenegro and Greece, with a test event in new spot Lake Geneva later this year. 

You may be wondering what this has to do with triathlon. Answering that is fellow swimmer Glen who I meet on the first day. He represents Great Britain and competes mainly at iron-distance and is here to push his swimming. “I’m a triathlete but I love doing long swim, bike and run events as training, too,” he says. 

Turns out there are a few triathletes about. Of the 160 swimmers taking part though, it seems you only have to scratch the surface to find out many of them have done iconic long-distance swims before. There are many solo or relay Channel swimmers about, as well as talk of swim federation rules, the best lubes for skins swimming and remedies for sea sickness. 

Now I’m a keen swimmer. I’m an open water coach too and I count the aquatic bit as my strongest tri discipline. Suddenly though, I start to wonder if I’m a teeny bit out of my depth, especially as with seven weeks’ notice of my press invite, I’ve only reached 6km long swims in training and this event will see me doing up to 11km at a time. I’m nervous, to put it mildly. 

Pushing the pace

That 33.3km distance is broken up over the four days with a 1km acclimatisation swim the evening before. Once into the event for real, it breaks up like this:

Friday: 4.7km and 4.6km

Saturday: 8.2km

Sunday: 11.3km

Monday: 5.7km and 1.2km 

I should mention here that the organisation at the UltraSwim events is out of the world. You book a package including different travel and accommodation options and once you arrive at the event, everything runs like clockwork.

From transport on boats between swims, to the evening swim briefings and information supplied via an online ‘swimmer’s bubble’ nothing is left to chance. Plus there’s info on Google calendar, Google Earth maps and Whatsapp groups. 

Arriving on the Thursday I fly into Split and transfer to Stari Grad, our base for three nights. Following that the event moves to Hvar for a further night or two (yes, we swim that far we have to move locations mid-trip). 

The acclimatisation swim is a simple single kilometre from the old town back to the hotel resort. Jumping in from the jetty, I take my usual middle-of- the-pack spot. Having done loads of triathlons and swim events I’m comfortable getting bumped and know the difference a good bit of drafting can make.

The klaxon sounds and I’m instantly in the washing machine. Arms and legs everywhere, water foaming around me. I’m shooting along, watching the water move quickly under me as the faster swimmers push it backwards. 

So far so good, but then… After only a few minutes I’m in clear water. What happened?! I’ll tell you what happened. The standard here is much higher than I’m used to. These people are rapid. It occurs to me that I might be slightly out of my comfort zone at this event… 

Day two and we have two swims to complete, both just under 5km, with a break in the middle. The first is the route originally planned along the coast, but the second sees a course change due to winds so instead of continuing in a straight line along the coast we take in some bays and then cut back across to create a loop. 

I’m comfortable with 5km swims (though two in one day is an ask) and am looking forward to being in the water getting the event ‘proper’ underway. Brekkie is at 5:30am and the course is a straightforward one. Entering the water from the harbour near the hotel, we’ll be swimming right up the coast. 

Courses are marked with giant pink spheres and buoys and there are generous numbers of kayakers to help us along. The water is around 18 degrees and feels great. 

Slightly warmer than at home but still fresh enough not to feel clammy in my wetsuit. I start mid-pack again but this time I’m ready for the pace and manage to hang on for longer. I enjoy the feeling of being swept along and my Garmin does a reassuring buzz every 500 metres. The sea is clear and green-blue and as we swim you can see deep into the water – passing over some areas I see small fish and starfish. My dream on this trip is to see an octopus and one was spotted in the harbour the day before, so that occupies many of my thoughts as well as the feeling of ‘pinch me is this really happening’ which I always get when having a real swim adventure. 

This first swim is a treat of a journey. I’m on pace and complete the distance in well under two hours which is a confidence boost. Exiting under the first bright pink finish arch of the week, I’m greeted with cheers and shepherded up to a café where there’s tea, coffee, instant porridge, fruit and pastries. 

Friends who have done extreme swim events have warned me not to run low on fuel, so I make the most of it!

Fighting the currents

The allotted break time over, we’re back in the sea for the second swim and the course change. The first section is again beautiful and calm, with little bays to explore and I’m still swimming well even though I was worried about getting back into the water with a body fatigued from the first swim. 

There’s something about the enthusiasm of the group which keeps you going and I gain energy from the people around me. It’s a good job too, as once we’ve swum around the bays there’s a left turn to cut back across to the start and it’s here that I get a taste of things to come. 

The waves have picked up and the sky is grey and foreboding. I realise technique will have to be compromised as I start picking up the pace to pull myself through the waves, lifting my head higher to breathe and sight  trying to keep an eye on the kayakers who are trying to navigate us correctly through the currents.

I think I’m doing pretty well until a kayaker swoops across and shouts “down, down, down!” at me and I realise I’m being pushed left. From here it’s a battle to stay on course and I kick myself for not paying closer attention to the conditions. 

I would like to say that I finish the swim and go to explore the sights of Croatia, but honestly? I’m shattered… Lunch is laid on at a local restaurant and then in the two hours I have between that and the briefing for the next day I find myself having a shower and then crawling into bed for a snooze… Is this how pro athletes live?!

Follow the light

Day two and the distances are increasing. A shorter amount of swimming overall, but no snack stop in the middle. I’ve swum Lake the rig bouncing Coniston a couple of times before in the UK though, and this at 8.3km is about the same distance, so I’m more nervous about ruining myself for the big 11.3km the following day. 

I’m also cheered by making some new friends on the walk to today’s ferry. Kerry and Karen are here from Scotland and their story is inspiring to say the least – Kerry is celebrating 11 years free of cancer with this trip and both of the women only learnt to swim front crawl a year ago. 

I have so much respect for the dedication they’ve brought to the challenge, though they admit to being daunted by the standard of swimmers. “We almost bailed on day one,” they laugh. “Everyone is so fast we didn’t know if we could do it.” 

Later in the trip our merry group is added to by Esther, a Yorkshire swimmer now living in Australia who’s also swimming the 10km swim under marathon swimming rules to earn a place in the official rankings. 

It just goes to show there is so much potential to achieve different goals at this event – from relative newbies to elites, with all of us in between. Today’s swim starts with a jump from the back of the boat and then a couple of kilometres over a channel before heading round the coast. 

Most people are more nervous about the crossing, which is so far that the pink buoys aren’t going to cut it – we’ve got a boat with strobe light to sight off. This crossing actually goes pretty well. It’s a long way but I’ve learnt from my mistakes of the previous day and am sighting regularly, feeling the currents and monitoring the kayakers more carefully. It’s a long way but I chip away at the distance and though a little bumpy, the conditions are good. 

Once alongside the coast I realise a swimmer I’ve been with much of the way is Kerry. We’re about the same pace, so swim alongside each other as we turn to follow the coast. As the day unfolds I’ll turn out to be very grateful for the company. In my head this was going to be the easy bit – but how wrong I was. 

Chop chop

It’s impossible to get into any kind of rhythm. Waves topping out at over a metre high are coming from the right, then bouncing off the rocks on our left. We’re in a constant side-to-side spin cycle and it doesn’t matter what breathing pattern I try, there’s always water there. The coastline is strangely claustrophobic too. 

Rock towers upwards and then with the wonderfully clear water allowing perfect visibility, drops steeply away underneath us. When the sun breaks through, shafts of sunlight radiate back up into our eyes. It’s beautiful and magical, but I’m not in the mood for beautiful and magical. 

This swimming is hard. Eventually we break round the headland into another sheltered bay. There are seven in total and I’ve lost count of which this one is. Three? Four? “You ok?” I shout to Kerry. “All good,” she replies. 

This swim is exhausting. The sea conditions are tough and the relief we get from each calm bay is quickly counteracted by facing the conditions out at sea again. I’m capable of swimming this, but it’s draining. Kerry feels the same but keeping each other going, as well as the rhythm of swimming together achieving the (seemingly) impossible stroke by stroke is getting us through it. 

My Garmin buzzes every 500m as usual and it’s enough to say my pace alternated between a best of 9 mins/500m and a worst of 17 mins/200m as the day progressed. Eventually we swim into the final bay and towards the pink finish arch. There’s hugs, Precision Hydration recovery nutrition and plenty of nerves about the biggest swim tomorrow. If the shorter one was this tough, can we add another 3km on top?

So here we are. Fast forward back to the 3.8km point of the event’s biggest swim where this story started. This one had started with another jump from a boat and a long swim to the shore, then into a bay where that boat was waiting with fuel and words of encouragement as I tried to fight the demons in my brain that wanted to stop. 

Now, in a triathlon you’re usually out of the water and off to find a bike at this point. Here, there’s another 7km left to cover. The crossing was a bit rough with strong currents and again, probably due to day three fatigue, I’ve made a mess of my direction – arcing and fighting the current rather than allowing it to drift me in. 

Panic starts to creep in. Is today going to be the same as yesterday..? I don’t think I have it in me. Sipping from a warm energy drink made from a gel dissolved in hot water (complete game changer!) I realise my watch has gone kaput too. Did I forget to charge it? Dammit. I’m so used to keeping half an eye on distance and pace as I swim that it’s another blow.

“Helen! Is that you?” I look over and sure enough Kerry has caught me up. She found the crossing equally tough and is equally in need of a boost. “It’s beautiful from here. Stunning bays. You can do it!” Andy Donaldson gives us a pep talk and more fuel – lobbing jelly babies at us from the boat. Trying to catch them is the perfect mood-breaker. Laughing, we pull our goggles back on and head out.

Thankfully Andy was right and the bays are much calmer than the previous day. We again get into a rhythm, matching our stroke rate and stopping briefly in each bay to check in. We notice huge shoals of tiny fish gather at the entrance to each bay as if welcoming us in – it’s a sign to look for along the way. I’m amazed I’m still swimming but determination has set in.

My arms and shoulders are stiff and tired but they’re working on autopilot now. When my brain starts to wobble again I count sets of 100, think of family, sing songs to myself. We’re going to do this thing.

The finish is into a harbour and the long straight along the jetty feels like it takes forever but equally, feels like the best finish line in the world. New friends are there to meet us and there’s one job left – to wait for Kerry’s training partner Karen who is showing real grit in this event.

Coming in as the final finishing swimmer (there are a few who don’t complete the full distance today) she’s put in an unbelievable stint to finish the longest day. UltraSwim’s motto is “this is not for everyone, but everyone can do it” and Karen’s proved it, with bells on.

Toughening up

The final day and we have one long swim and a short ‘victory parade’ into Hvar. The longer swim is still long enough to be an ask on a tired body but sitting on the taxi boat to the start I feel joyful and lucky to be in such a beautiful place doing my favourite sport. A dolphin arcs in and out of the water past the boat and feels like a timely reminder of how amazing this trip has been. 

I’m swimming on my own today and again without my watch (no charger with me, doh!) but I’m enjoying the break from constant self-assessment and just watching the scenery, enjoying the journey. 

The kilometres speed by and I remember someone telling me that oddly, the days get easier as you go along and you become habituated to the swimming. We follow the coast around a long headland but remembering the maps gives me an awareness of where I am and how long I have to go. 

One of the event co-founders, Mark Turner, appears next to me in one of the event boats. It’s nice to have company for a while and he jokes “is now a good time for an interview, Helen?”. He also tells me my swimming is looking great (which makes me suspicious) then reminds me that around the next (and final!) corner there is a strong current so I need to keep right and fight hard. 

It’s only about 10 metres long, but I soon see what Mark means. I’m swimming my very hardest, chopping my arms up and round, but the same sea urchin is mocking me by staying right under my face. I’m barely moving at all.

I make the classic mistake of stopping to see what’s happening and shoot back to where I started. I’ve got company though. A pair of Aussie holidaymakers are on SUPs looking down at me. “Sweetheart,” one of them says. “You need to take a spoonful of cement and toughen up… We’re with you!”. 

The tough talk makes me laugh and head down, I get back at it. It takes a while but that pesky sea urchin gradually moves out of sight and eventually I’m back in clear water, my new SUP friends guiding the way as I swim into the finish. This is the end of the race ‘proper’ and other swimmers have gathered in the water to create a victory tunnel, splashing me and cheering as I stand up. What a moment! 

Champagne finish

All that is left to do is board the boats and then swim our final 800m of the event. This is a special one as it’s untimed to allow everyone to take in the moment. The authorities have closed the Hvar harbour to boat traffic to allow us to swim into the town, where crew, spectators and tourists line the water. 

Tears of a different type mist my goggles as I swim alongside the others. The pace has dropped and we’re all in a group together taking in the last of our time in the water. This truly has been the event of a lifetime and despite the highs and lows, the sore shoulders and the wetsuit tan lines on my ankles (oh yeah, they’re a thing) I’m absolutely hooked. 

Exiting the water I’m handed a beautiful wooden medal and a glass of champagne. At the awards ceremony later today I’ll be presented with a second, smaller medal, which acknowledges I completed the full 33.3km. I know I’ll cherish it.

So, would I recommend an UltraSwim to triathletes? Absolutely. While swim-bike-run is our thing, we are also swimmers and if you want to truly push yourself in the first discipline while having an amazing trip then this could be just what you’ve been looking for. I know I’ll be back – just with a little more time to train next time!

UltraSwim 33.3 logistics 

Race website 

www.ultraswim333.com 

How to get there

I flew from Bristol Airport to Split in Croatia (flight time 2hr 30mins). I then took a taxi to the harbour and a ferry over to Stari Grad. My return journey was a fast boat from Hvar back to Split. Depending which package you book your UltraSwim with, different transfer options are included once you land at the airport. 

Where to stay

My accommodation was included with my trip (again, depending on the level of package you choose hotels vary from three-star to five-star). 

In Stari Grad I stayed at the Places Valamar hotel (www.valamar.com). 

In Hvar I stayed at the Amfora Grand Beach Resort and the Beach Bay Hvar hotel (both at suncanihvar.com). 

How much does it cost?

When you book your UltraSwim you choose from four packages (starting at €1,800 per person). This includes all your swims, accommodation, transfers, transport between swims, training support and more.