23/05/2026
Last weekend, three of our team went to Roadford Lake to test their training.
This is Nik’s report.
After delaying too long throughout the horrible winter, I’ve finally gotten back into the sea for some cold water backstroke training. Turns out, it was just about enough to get me through 5 kilometres of backstroke in the 13.2C water of Roadford Lake. I had done this same swim in 2025 on a lovely sunny day and finished it in 1:40 so I was looking forward to seeing how much time I could take off now in 2026. On the day, the conditions were not as nice as 2025 and the water felt significantly colder. The first 2 laps felt great and I was plenty warm inside. The 3rd lap was tough and I was starting to get cold. There were not that many swimmers left around me in the lake and as the clouds got darker, it became harder work. The 4th lap was very difficult! I was losing sensation in my hands. I was trying to sprint to keep my internal warmth up but I kept on getting colder. That lap couldn’t end quickly enough and eventually it did. By the time I was helped out of the lake by the fantastic volunteers of Sportiva Events, I had taken 8 full minutes off my previous time! As I sit in the warmth of the indoors, I look back very fondly on that 5K backstroke, but there is no denying that it was bloody hard and cold!!
