PRESS RELEASE
Introducing Australia’s longest distance 26km marathon swim.
The Inaugural Another Level™ Palm Beach to Shelly Beach 26km marathon swim will be held in NSW on Saturday the 30thMarch 2019.
Until now there have been two notable Australian long distance marathon swims, both are fantastic swims held in Rottnest, Western Australia. Palm Beach to Shelly Beach is an iconic beautiful swim set against the backdrop of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, cliff tops and ocean reefs. Swimmers will be 1-3km off shore and closest to land at Long Reef peninsula hoping for a southerly current to push them home.
This swim has been set up to cater for long distance swimmers attempting one of the Oceans Seven channel swims this year. Marathon swimmers usually do 5-8km pool sessions each morning followed by a long weekend open water swim. This is a growing sport in Australia and to put it into perspective; over a thousand people took part in the Rottnest race in 2019. Australia is home to some of the best marathon swimmers in the world such as Trent Grimsey (QLD), Susie Maroney (NSW), Lynton Mortensen (QLD), Shelley Taylor-Smith(WA) and Chloe McCardel (VIC) and naming just these swimmers does not by any means do justice to the number of highly accomplished marathon swimmers there are in Australia. Currently there are four Triple Crown swimmers (English channel, Manhattan and Catalina) who have entered and also Dean Summers who has completed five of the Ocean Seven.
Long swims require either kayak or boat support, to provide the swimmers’ feeds every forty minutes and safety support too. There are so many safety issues to overcome ranging from cramping, hypothermia, large sea swell, strong currents, fatigue, objects in the water, other craft and the marine creatures.
Marathon swimming is a gruelling event for people who are often the silent achievers busily clocking up the miles and churning the arms over each day under the watchful eye and tutelage of their coaches. The complete opposite of other marathon athletes they eat massive calories not only to fuel their training program but also to gain weight, as much as a 25% body fat composition. This provides the essential insulation for the cold channel swims which maybe as low as 8º Celsius. The energy expenditure during a ten-hour swim is around 14000 Kcal or 60000 kjoules and the energy expenditure increases as the water gets colder or as sea conditions get more challenging. This is why marathon swimmers require the additional fat reserves.
It is a lot easier to identify and observe the long distance athletes who run or cycle around the parks, trails and urban areas. But, hidden away from terra firma and public view are the marathon swimmers. Equally committed to achieving their goals by setting up milestones in their training, testing their limits of physical and mental prowess against the open water elements.
Regardless of whether the swimmer completes the full distance; the Palm to Shelly beach swim is an opportunity for athletes to test their systems, set up goals, their physical conditioning and determine where their mental head space is at.
Race Director
Tim Garrett
