Julia Pritchard’s Journey with UltraSwim 333

Lifelong swimmer Julia Pritchard will use #7Croatia as a key milestone in her build up to her first English Channel solo attempt this summer. How did she get to this point, and why does she see next May’s #7Croatia edition as a key part of her build up? Read on!

What made you get into Open Water Swimming and Why?

My first OWS was a race in the river in Matlock Bath organised by my swimming club. They had a 250m stretch of the river and ran a series of 3 races. The 250, 500 and 1,500m. The first year they did it I was so nervous, every time I put my face in the water I froze and held my breath. I couldn’t breathe out. I hadn’t really thought it through and the fact that I couldn’t see the bottom of the river really unnerved me. I got out after the 1st race and concluded open water swimming was not for me.
Soon after a friend asked if I fancied a swim in the river with her. I thought I’d give it another try. Just the two of us, head up breaststroke and chatting. I slowly practiced putting my face in and breathing out. I soon realised I could do front crawl in open water.
Then I got invited for a night swim in the river by Chatsworth House. It’s a beautiful spot that is normally heaving with people on a summer's day. At night, we had the place to ourselves. Someone passed out glow sticks which we put into the backs of our goggles and left a load on the bank of the river so we knew where to climb out. We swam upstream, moonlit with the occasional bat flying overhead. It was magical. A micro adventure with new friends. When we got out, someone passed round mugs of hot chocolate. I felt like a kid again, going out for a play. That was probably the moment when I caught the bug.

2. Were you a swimmer your whole life? When did you start swimming? Any family involved in swimming or others that motivated you to do open water swimming

I have always been involved with swimming. As a kid I was in the local lifesaving club and competed in competitions. My first job was working as a lifeguard at the pool and I soon got trained up to help with the swimming lessons. I only started club swimming though when I was 35. I joined the Masters sessions as a way to keep fit. All three of my children swim with the swimming club and my daughter also loves open water swimming. We swam Lake Coniston this year. It was really fun doing it together. All 3 are faster than me now, but……. I can swim further!

3. What is a typical day for you from waking up and training for something like an Ultra Marathon?

At the moment, over winter, I am concentrating on my stroke and strength. I am working with my swim club coach to become more efficient with my stroke and less prone to injury for when I build up the km. I do about 6 hours of club swimming a week and one swim a week in the local unheated lido. I am also doing 3 sessions of strength and conditioning, 2 pilates sessions, a couple of bike sessions and I have a stretching routine I try to do before I swim.
From February onwards I will be increasing my cold water swimming to twice a week and making one of my swims a longer swim, so I will be ready to do the Channel qualifying swim in April. The qualifier is a 6 hour non stop sea swim in water under 16 Celsius. I have done it 3 times before so I'm not worried about doing the swim. What I am preparing carefully for, is to be able to do it without injuring myself.

4. Why the English Channel, what does it mean for you to accomplish this swim.

I've been involved in long distance swimming for a while now so I do know several people who have swam the Channel. It's been in the back of my head for a while as something it might be possible for me to do one day. This year I turned 50 and realised that if I was going to do it one day, I better crack on and do it sooner rather than later. A few chats later with some swimming friends and I had managed to get myself a crew and a slot with Paul Forman on Optimist for the beginning of September 2025. To accomplish it will make me so proud of myself, and I'm sure my family will be very proud too. I know it is not a given. So many things have to be inplace for it to be successful and not all of them are in my control. I am training hard and love chatting to people who have already swam long sea crossings, picking up tips and advice from them.

5. What other goals do you have?

There are some really amazing long swims that I would love to do. If I manage to swim the English Channel, I think I would then have the confidence to do them. I particularly have my eye on the Round Manhattan Island Swim and the Scar Swim in Arizona.

6. How do you see joining ULTRASWIM 33.3 events helping in achieving your goals.

To achieve my goals I need to experience a lot of open water and sea swimming in different distances and conditions. Swimming long distances in laps I find hard. It's really boring and my mind can start to become a bit negative. I know swimming the channel will be hard, but I am determined to really enjoy my training and hopefully really enjoy the swim too!
I went on the Ultraswim 33.3#5 in Montenegro. Their format of point to point swims makes every swim interesting and a challenge. You are never alone and they have an amazing team looking after you. I got some great training advice from Jay Prchal and Ivan Puskovitch and I learnt loads from listening to the talks with Sophie Eldritch, Marieke and Andy Donaldson. The timing of the ULTIMATE 22.2 at ULTRASWIM 33.3#7 in Croatia is perfect for me. The predicted sea temperature is similar to what the English Channel will be in September. Being able to swim a 22.2 km point to point swim in the sea early in the season will really give me confidence. My friends, who will be crewing for me on the channel, are also able to join me and crew for me on the ULTIMATE 22.2. So it will be a great practice for us all.

7. Anything you can say to motivate and advise potential swimmers in getting into Open Water swimming?

Open Water swimmers are such a friendly, supportive bunch. I have met so many interesting positive people and had all sorts of different adventures. I am so glad I didn't stop after my first river swim when I got nervous putting my face in the water. Don't just give it a try, give it several tries. you won't regret it.