If you ever envied Baloo from The Jungle Book, floating downstream a river effortlessly, the River Adur swim in England is for you! The swim is a wetsuit legal (even mandatory!), tide assisted, salty 5km event, making it one of your fastest 5km you will ever swim. It makes it also a perfect first event for those you have swum a few times outdoors but are looking to cover a bit more distance. 

The perfect conditions for a great swim

It is always more fun to swim with friends. To celebrate the end of the season, we were a few members of our swim club to join that day in Shoreham-by-Sea, on the south coast of the UK. Our group represented mix experiences and abilities in term of swimming. Though we were all confident swimmers or triathletes, several did their first river swim that day while some others were open water swimming veterans. For me, it was the occasion to come back to river swim after my fantastic experience at the Dart 10km Marathon Swim.

The event was perfectly organised but also fun with a vintage bus from the 60’s took the participants from the registration (and finish line) to the start.  The conditions were ideal, with a water at 19C and certified as “Excellent” by the Environment Agency. The atmosphere was friendly and the participants chatty as we waited for the tide to turn to enter the water. The swim covers the 5 last kilometres of the river by the estuary, making it highly subject to the tide. Depending on the time of the day, the river will be flowing one way or the opposite. It is this current that we were all there for, ready to enjoy a gentle push and some free speed.

Downstream the River Adur

After a short period of acclimatisation where we realised how buoyant we were in this salty water, we set off at the sound of the horn. We immediately lost track of each other, as it is absolutely impossible to recognise anybody while wearing a swim cap, googles and a wetsuit!

We were only about 260 participants, so in about 15min I had made my way through the first half of the pack and I soon could evolve in my own space and my own speed. For the first kilometre I couldn’t feel any tide and ended-up wondering if the organiser oversold the impact of the tide. But surely, after 15min of swimming the current got stronger and I picked up the pace without increasing the effort.

As we progressed downstream, grey clouds gathered in the sky and wind picked up. The weather was changing and after one of the bend, the water got choppy as we were fighting the wind and you had to try to avoid the waves when lifting your head up to breathe.

After the next bend, this river was sheltered again and I could fully enjoy the feeling of “flying through the water” at a speed I had never been able to reach before. Spectators were cheering from the riverbanks and from the bridged we passed. “One, two” I counted mentally. I knew that we had to pass 3 bridges before the end. We were approaching the finish line. “Already?” I thought, this was too much fun I just wanted to keep swimming.

I paused to observe the surroundings to decide how to best exiting the water. It was clear that the current was really strong and some competitors had to be “caught” by the safety team as they were about to be washed away to the sea.  I stay safely close to the right riverbank and quickly was able to stand and make my way to the finish line. 

I completed the 5k swim in 1h04min, at a pace of 1min10sec/ 100m, almost twice as fast as my usual open water swimming pace (1min58sec / 100m). I finished 19th out of 113 women and with a massive smile across my face. That speed clearly gave me a rush of endorphins!

It turned out that 2019 was a very fast year for the River Adur Swim with the first swimmers completing the 5k in just 54min! The event has a 2h cut off , as the 6m tide decreases the level of the river quite dramatically. All competitors finished on time and could wash off the salty taste in their mouth with a coffee and a delicious flapjack that the organiser kindly included for all participants. It was the perfect post sea swim snack, even though I kept the feeling of “salt mouth” for several hours after the event. 

River Adur 5km swim, a fun low key event

We all loved the event which was really well organised, with clear information before the race, diligent safety support (many kayak and emergency boats) and friendly volunteers. The river is clean and the tide makes it easy for all to complete the distance in a record time (between 1h03 and 1h22 in our group). If you want to go even faster, you can even enter the fins category! At 32GBP it is a fun event that doesn’t break the bank and as an added bonus, the event is accessible by public transportation, with a short 1h15min journey on a direct train from London.
You can stay tuned for announcements about next year’s River Adur Swim directly on Raw Energy Pursuits website.

If you enjoyed this article, with not checking out my story about the Dart 10km swim, considered as one of the most beautiful swims in the UK.