Courtesy of Jenny Smith, Sandycove, Ireland.

Cork Distance Week is heading towards its middle and will soon culminate in its 8th day with the Body Brain Confusion Swim.

Started on June 30th and ending on July 8th this year in Cork, Ireland, the world-renowned marathon swimming preparation camp is designed and led by International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Administrator Ned Denison.

During the Body Brain Confusion Swim, a team of coaches go out of their way to remove any mental comfort that the campers may be experiencing. The total amount of training time remains unknown, the swim course is never straight, the feeds remain infrequent, and every possible irritation is tossed in the swimmer’s way to prepare them to handle the unexpected during their channel and marathon swims.

During the first 7 days, most English Channel aspirants will rest for their 6-hour qualifier and look for 15°C (59°F) calm waters – the first six hours of their planned marathon swim. On the last day in Cork, the swimmers qualify for the last 6 hours of their planned marathon swim with the Body Brain Confusion Swim. In Sandycove Island, the waters are in the 10-13°C (50-55°F) range, rarely calm and the swimmers have just endured their toughest 8 days of cold open water training of their lives.

The Cork Distance Week training camp lays the groundwork to high mileage and significant psychological stress with the goal to help its participants achieve their marathon swimming goals. They leave with a sense of confidence that can see them through their future plans.

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