An Overview

So now it's been 18 months since I finished my swim and I thought I'd do a bit of an overview of the blog, as I made over a hundred entries and I don't expect anyone to read them all!

I am Alex

I swam the length of the Great Ouse river, which is 230.15km, over 112 days.

I picked this distance because

1. It's the longest river in East Anglia, which is where I call home.
2. My physiology textbook says that there are 230 joints in the human body (though I have since discovered that there is some debate about this) and Arthrogryposis is a condition which affects the joints.

I did my swim for The Arthrogryposis Group.
This is a clip from Radio 4 about TAG and Arthrogryposis.

I set out to raise 10p a length- £920.60. I surpassed this, and also beat target number 2- £1250, and 3- £1500. My final total was £1703.15 (or over £1800, including GiftAid.


I was featured in the local press

And I came runner-up in a JustGiving video competition with this beaut of a video, which I can’t take any credit for- I just did what I was told by my director, Ursula.


Ursula also:

Interviewed me about the swim


Made a long version of the Bombers video


And, with Hugh, made a support video for me


I received sponsorship from a million-and-one sources, the majority of whom I’ve attempted to thank in the sidebar. The list is too long for me to reproduce here, however it included friends, family, people who swam beside me in the pool, as well as local companies including British Sugar, Denny Bros and Cecil and Larter.

And that’s about it. I still spend half my life at the swimming pool, but most of the time I’m lifeguarding on the side rather than in the pool itself. I’m due to graduate in July with a BSc Hons in Human Biology and Law (yes, it’s a bit of a unique one!) and I’m hoping to be involved in some kind of medical or genetic research in the real world, but who knows where I will end up.
Unfortunately Hugh and I are no longer together, but these things happen and we had fun while it lasted .

So thank you again to everyone who supported me in whatever fashion. I couldn’t have done it by myself!