Diabetes UK encourages Swindon residents to swim length of English Channel
Participants swim 22 miles over three months
Diabetes UK is encouraging people in Swindon to swim 22 miles – the length of the English Channel – from now until June.
The Link Centre and Dorcan Health & Recreation Complex are supporting Swim22 with free training events and advice for the second year in a row.
Swim22 is a nationwide challenge that aims to improve people’s mental and physical health as well as raise funds for Diabetes UK’s research.
Phaedra Perry, Head of South West and South Central at Diabetes UK, said: “It's really important for people to use exercise as a form of managing their diabetes, but it's also really important for those who are looking to prevent or reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the first place.
“So, swimming presents a good opportunity for people who might be new to taking on exercise. It's quite gentle on the joints, but it's also something which can be very accessible to people in general”.
The number of people in the UK living with diabetes is at an all-time high with 4.6 million people affected.
An additional 1.3 million people are estimated to have diabetes but have not been diagnosed yet and another 6.3 million people are living with pre-diabetes, meaning that they have increased blood sugar levels, but they are not high enough to be classed as type 2 diabetes yet.
Type 2 diabetes typically develop slowly which leads to some people living with diabetes for up to 10 years before getting a diagnosis.
“It's really important for us to be raising awareness of diabetes and how serious it is, but also providing options to support people. Now, the money that we raise through Swim22 goes towards the research that we fund as an organisation”, added Ms. Perry.
“In the time that we've been running this Swim22 challenge, this initiative itself has raised about 5.7 million that we've put towards our research and care”.
For those who would like to take part in the challenge but feel like 22 miles are too much, there is also an 11-mile-challenge, while experienced swimmers are invited to attempt swimming 44 miles – or in other words, to France and back.
Barnaby Rich, manager of Swindon’s two Better leisure centres that are supporting Swim22, said: “Diabetes is one of the fastest growing chronic conditions in the world.