Great North Swim

September 2008

Elaine Roe

The September 2008 Great North Swim was the first ever mass participation swimming event of its kind in the UK, and Elaine Roe, a long-time PCRF supporter, was one of the first to apply for a place. Her enthusiasm also inspired friend Andrew Hunt to take part and raise money for PCRF. Naomi Freeth was also taking part to raise funds in memory of a close friend's father.

The event was a great success and Elaine reported, "I managed the swim in 56.29 mins which I was really pleased about, as I normally swim that length in our pleasant leisure pool in 50 mins, although it felt longer (and much colder!!) at the time. Anyway, knowing I was swimming for PCRF kept me going!"

Naomi also enjoyed the event, telling us, "I had an amazing experience and the atmosphere was brilliant. I completed the swim in 42 mins and 6 seconds which I am pleased with. The Olympic swimmers from Beijing were there and managed to swim the course in 17 minutes (puts my time to shame). This will now become one of my yearly challenges and I hope to improve on my time for next year."

		Naomi Freeth at the start, smiling before she realised how cold the water was and at the finish ... still smiling