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Ros and Harry - Swimming the Distance

Ros and Harry recall their unusual first meeting and how he helped her achieve her goal.

Ros first met Harry at the local pool in Stranraer. Ros had recently moved there and was working full-time as a social worker. Her mum had recently passed away and swimming at the local pool became her release. Harry understands a lot about coaching because he used to be the UK鈥檚 national triathalon coach. He was also in the army for almost 30-years (but it was the TA鈥檚 for almost half of that). He said that鈥檚 given him a lot of his self-discipline, and says so much of our fear of doing things is mental, not physical. Ros's swim from Ailsa Craig island to Girvan Beach took place on the 12th September, 2009. She'd not long turned 50. It was supposed to be an 11-mile distance but the tides added much more and when Ros finally reached the beach, she鈥檇 swum 17.5 miles. She and Harry aren鈥檛 working on any more long swims together, but they've become great friends. Ros but her experience into founding a local outdoor swimming group, and she might swimming together with them as part of a relay team on the 10th anniversary of the Ailsa Craig. Harry says he might swim a mile of it himself.

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