If swimming indoors, such as at a local swimming pool, please observe their rules. These normally entail things like no running around the pool, no diving unless specified, not to swim after consuming alcohol, and checking the depth and length of the pool to make sure you’re confident with it. Ask a member of staff for guidance if you’re unsure.
Taking on this challenge is entirely at your own risk, so please assess your ability and safety before you participate. Cancer Research UK shall not be liable for any injury, damage or loss to you or your property that might occur as a result of your participation.
If you have underlying health conditions (such as heart disease, asthma or lung conditions), are pregnant or have any other medical conditions that might be affected by this challenge, please seek appropriate medical advice before proceeding.
Don’t take part in the challenge under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Please read this safety advice in full and be aware that participation is at your own risk. Whether you choose to take part in the sea, a lake, a loch, at your local swimming pool or lido, it’s important you understand how to stay safe while fundraising for Cancer Research UK.
If you’re doing the challenge in open water, don’t do it alone. Enjoy this challenge with others who can assist you should you need it. Always be aware of your location and take your mobile phone to wherever you’re swimming.
Check the weather forecast, tides and water conditions in advance and plan accordingly. Make sure you know the conditions and how to protect yourself, and don’t take part if you don’t feel fully confident.
Always make sure you’ve taken a means of calling for help in case of an emergency.
Check local advice and choose your locations carefully. Seek out locations that are familiar to you and ideally with local lifeguards. Make sure it’s safe for you to get in the water and you can exit easily.
Taking on this challenge is entirely at your own risk, so please assess your ability and safety before you participate. Cancer Research UK shall not be liable for any injury, damage or loss to you or your property that might occur as a result of your participation.
If you have underlying health conditions (such as heart disease, asthma or lung conditions), you’re pregnant or have any other medical conditions that might be affected by exposure to cold water, please seek appropriate medical advice before proceeding.
Don’t take part in the challenge under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Plan your outdoor swims in daylight hours and avoid dipping in the dark.
Approach the challenge sensibly and don’t go beyond your ability levels to participate in the challenge.
Wear brightly coloured clothes and your Cancer Research UK bobble hat so you can be easily spotted. This will also help you retain body heat while in the water.
You may want to wear a wetsuit, which aids buoyancy and makes you feel more comfortable in the water. Neoprene boots and gloves are also useful to make sure your hands and feet don’t get too cold.
Always enter the water slowly and avoid jumping in as this could cause cold water shock.
Seek help immediately if you feel very cold, woozy, nauseous, disorientated, dizzy or faint.
In case of emergency, call 999 for help and ask for a coastguard.
Warm up gradually after getting out of the water, dry yourself off and put on warm, dry layers.
Avoid standing around, have a warm drink and some food, and move to a warm location.
We also recommend reading the following guidance:
Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to swim 10k in whatever way they choose over the month of November.
Once you’ve signed up, join the Swim 10k Facebook group dedicated to this challenge and click 'Join Group'. Once you're in, you can complete a form to get your free bobble hat, get tips for completing the distance, be inspired by other fundraisers and find out anything you want to know about the challenge.
Yes! If you don’t have Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK online Giving Page and collect sponsorship for your Swim 10k Challenge.
There is no entry fee for this challenge, but we do ask that you fundraise for Cancer Research UK through your online Giving Page. All donations to the page will automatically be sent to us.
While we encourage everyone to complete this challenge in November, this is a personal challenge and you can start and finish at a time that’s convenient for you. You can make up your kilometres at any point of the month and continue the challenge into December.
The challenge is to complete 10k in the month of November. You can choose to break this down into 2.5k a week, or smaller swims multiple times a week. To put this into perspective, 2.5k = 100 x 25m lengths, or 50 x 50m lengths.
There are lots of ways to complete the challenge and raise money for our life-saving work:
visit your local swimming baths or leisure centre
check out a local lido
try your local lake or loch
take a dip in the sea
The only thing that matters is that you try your best to complete as much of the challenge as you can. Whether that’s completing the whole 10k in November or not, the money you raise will help us to keep funding life-saving research. Whatever you manage to achieve, we can’t thank you enough.
If you’re attempting the challenge outdoors, please wear a t-shirt while swimming to help retain body heat. You may also like to wear a wetsuit to aid buoyancy and make you more comfortable in the water. We also recommend neoprene gloves and booties. Ultimately, you should wear what you’re comfortable in and what keeps you warm.
If you’re planning to wear a tracking device, make sure it’s waterproof before entering the water.
It’s important you’re well prepared for your swim, especially if you haven't swum for a while.
Here’s some equipment you might want to consider:
swimsuit/swim shorts
goggles
sunscreen
ear plugs
nose clip
It isn’t safe to swim in a reservoir due to the following hazards:
Reservoirs can be deceptively deep, with unexpected drops which aren’t visible from outside the water.
Reservoirs are often in isolated places, making it difficult to receive immediate help.
Hidden pipes and machinery can be hazardous.
The sides can be steep and difficult to get out from.
There may be hidden obstacles, rubbish or broken glass that people have discarded which might cause injury.
The temperature tends to be very low.
The minimum age for participation is 18. Anyone under this age shouldn’t take part in the Swim 10k Challenge.
Strava and Fitbit are free apps that will allow you to track your distance. If you’re using a tracking device, do make sure it’s waterproof!
Find out how to connect your Giving Page to Strava.
Find out how to connect your Giving Page to Fitbit.
Please note: Sometimes there’s a 48-hour lag in the Strava/Fitbit data being updated. If your kilometres still aren't showing, disconnect and reconnect to do a hard reset and this will add any kilometres already on the Strava account.
Complete this form to receive your free bobble hat in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for it to arrive.
When filling out your sign-up form, select ‘no’ where it asks if you’d like to receive an item. You’ll still receive an online Giving Page, be able to join the challenge group and take part!
If you have any further questions, email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 03001231022 (lines open 8am–8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am–5pm at weekends)
We trust you! You don’t need to provide evidence that you’ve completed the challenge to us, but your friends and family will want some updates.
Make sure you keep them posted on your progress and share videos and photos throughout the month – the more updates the better.
Participants must register as individuals, but you can then set up a team Giving Page to take on the challenge and raise money together.
Here’s how:
All your team will need to sign up to the Swim 10k in November Challenge so you each have your own online Giving Page.
Once everyone has signed up, log into your account.
Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions.
Once you've created your team, you can send the team page URL to friends and family so they can join too!
Find more information about setting up a team.
Once you’ve created your team, you can either split the kilometres up between the group or you can each complete 10k across the month.
We don’t set a fundraising target for participants, but we recommend that supporters set themselves a reasonable target of raising £150 or more.
You’ll be sent a certificate in your completion email at the end of your challenge. You can also access downloadable digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media.
Unfortunately, medals would cost us a significant amount, so we won’t be sending these out so we can spend more on our life-saving work.
You can use our sponsorship form(PDF, 169 KB) to raise money rather than using an online method. Simply download the form, print it off and record all your sponsorship collected or pledged. Once you’ve completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:
Swim 10k Challenge in November, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ.
Please note we’re currently experiencing a delay in receiving and processing donations so do bear with us if it takes a little longer than usual to receive an acknowledgment.
This challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by us, therefore all money raised must go solely to Cancer Research UK.
Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means Cancer Research UK can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated, without it costing you or your sponsors an extra penny. For a donation to be eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the sponsorship form following the instructions at the top of the page.
