A day in the life...of a Bluetit swimming an IISA Ice Mile!
In 2024 a group of strangers turned into friends at the Winter World Swimming Championships-Tallin.
An idea grew; to train over next few years to qualify for International Ice Swimming Association ratified an ice mile.
So in November 2025 eight of us met up in Loch Morlich-Cairngorms to attempt a series of different qualifying distances from 500m to 1600m (mile).
This is my experience of the day. It follows a year of swim training, swimming 1km open water swimming most days and the last month undertaking acclimatisation swims.
PRE-swim
You will require a medical and ECG.
SWIM DAY:
My swim time was planned for 10:00. After a night of not sleeping the swim time was delayed and nerves were fraying.
I arrived at the warm recovery room where we placed out our kit in order that they could remove swimwear on return and then dress us in our warm clothing.
We were then taken rapidly in a 4x4 to Loch Morlich. We were advised to dress in approved swimwear, dryrobe, hat, goggles and crocs (no watches allowed). It was mandatory to wear a belt in order you could be rescued if required.
I was then introduced to who I now call my beach angel: Cate. Each swimmer had an angel: they literally walked holding your dryrobe, along the beach talking to you, watching your stroke and monitoring your condition - safety is paramount.
I then gave Cate my dryrobe and entered the water. Nerves finally calmed. The water temperature was 3.9C and wind chill factor was -9C, the sun was shining and the scenery was amazing.
The cold bite started immediately! I had “trained” for 1km, but it was announced when we arrived the night before that IISA the international body had increased the distance to 1.2km- a distance few of us had trained for - mental trauma!!
Our swim course was three loops of 400m along the length of the shoreline. It was now or never, I had absolute confidence in Leon Fryer and his Swimyourswim team- we all knew that undertaking these extreme swims was going to push us to our physical and mental boundaries in order to complete it.
So gritting my teeth I dug deep, the deepest I have EVER done, I swam the 1.2km at 3.9C, it took me 42minutes. I did it breaststroke; it was warmer keeping your arms in the water than out. Each successive lap was harder and harder, your eyes latching on to the next buoy, then the next.
When I reached the final yellow buoy I turned to Cate and she confirmed I had achieved my dream. I then passed out! That’s where I assume Cate (dressed in her dry suit and carrying my dryrobe) was suddenly involved in my swim.
I have no idea what happened for the next hour, I know that I acquired bruises - probably from being dragged out of the loch, bundled into the 4x4 and taken to the recovery team who had to overcome my resistance to be warmed (apparently, according to my mate Jacqui Winter-Dwyers who was in recovery about to go down for her swim heard them say: “Ravi (dr) come back, Debs coming back and needs you” apparently crying, and so unco-operative that it took four people in recovery to undress and then dress me. Note, this is not unusual and several of us had challenging recoveries: vomiting, crying, shaking, intense interventions.
When you are nearly fully recovered and hypothermia is resolving you get to fulfil your childhood hobbies of “colouring in” as a way of them assessing your recovery - which is good fun. I managed to complete my “drawing”!
To summarise:
The swim was brutal, the recovery was brutal.
The adventure was amazing.
Am I glad I did?: OMG YES!!
Would I do it again? No.
My two year dream of completing a ratified IISA 1km has been completed. No more long distance ice swims, let the next adventure begin - whatever that is.
After a few hours we celebrated with cake and Prosecco as true Bluetits do.
My personal advice for anyone who has the same dream is:
Regularly check the full IISA rules- they update regularly.
Undertake the swim only if you have full back-up and full confidence in your support team.
The recovery room was like another world and I was previously an ITU sister.
My sincerest thanks go to:
- My Bluetit ice sisters who I started the dream with
- Leon Fryers Team at Swim Your Swim
- Hamish McCarthy my swim coach, for the ongoing support and kick up the arse when I needed it (at a cost of treating myself to another swim cossie!)
- Wilds Swim for the endurance coaching (not admitting that I did heads up breaststroke)
- 4T - The Triathlon Training Team for swim coaching.
- My Mom and the Minehead to Blue Anchor Bluetits for being there for me at home and on the beach.
Words by Debra Adams - Minehead to Blue Anchor Bluetit