This glamorous photo is me finishing the final leg of a 24-hour relay swim with Level Water at Shepperton Lake last weekend. We were 2 teams of 6 swimmers, and each team had someone in the lake from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday, swopping over every hour.

I swam a total of 12km, but that pales in comparison to what some others achieved. A couple of legendary ladies swam solo (without a team). They each stayed in the lake for the entire 24 hours. While I was wrestling to get my soggy wetsuit on and off every few hours, they just continued swimming in their swimsuits. The lake was a chilly 18 degrees, and I was freezing after just an hour in neoprene!

It’s times like this when it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others - who swam the furthest, who was the fastest, who endured the cold the best. The great thing about this event is, it didn’t matter. Everyone was there to have fun, drink copious amounts of tea, and raise money for an amazing charity.

Level Water provides 1-1 swimming lessons for children with disabilities across the UK. Their lessons give children, who wouldn't be able to access regular lessons, the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water. (There’s a link to a fundraising page in the comments).

I can’t wait to do it all again next year!