In March 2010, Emily Morris became the first British woman to swim across the Cook Strait, the cold and potentially treacherous stretch of water between New Zealand’s North and South Islands. She battled wind, waves and water for nearly 10 hours. We asked her how she did it and what advice she could offer to triathletes.

You don’t wear a wetsuit. How did you prepare yourself for the cold?

You need to acclimatise, and you need to do it each season to remind your body of the shock. Normally I start in May when sea temperatures at Dover are typically between 7 and 10 degrees. In week one I’ll stay in for 20 minutes, come out for two hours to warm up, and then re-enter the water for another 30 minutes. Week two is similar: 30 minutes in the water, two hours to warm up followed by another 40 minutes swimming.

After that, hopefully by week three I’ll be able to stay in for an hour and maybe swim 3km. Then I’ll build up to six hours or so over the subsequent weeks. It’s worth persevering. You get a definite buzz from cold water swimming.

Do you jump straight in, or wade in slowly?

Slowly, definitely, especially initially. I walk in, dangle my hands in the water, splash my face and maybe swim head-up breaststroke until I get my breath back, then I’ll switch to front crawl.

Do you get bored?

I used to, and I suppose I still do at the start of the season, but I’ve learnt lots of ways to keep my mind occupied while I swim. For example, I play the alphabet game – the one where you try to think of an animal (or a country or a city etc.) starting with ‘A’, and so on through the alphabet. I also run through all the things I want to do when I finish, I put the world to rights, plan my blog, count to three over and over again (which is quite hypnotic) and sing songs (in my head, obviously).

The first two hours are usually the worst, then my mind settles. I won’t let myself say, “are we nearly there yet?!”

Don't look back

Aren’t you sometimes so exhausted you can’t bear the thought of swimming another stroke?

Pain comes and goes. And you know what people say: pain is temporary, glory is forever. You just swim through it. Suddenly the pain goes, then it comes back, then it goes again. You just never give in.

The trick is to banish negative thoughts as soon as they enter your mind. Start singing a song, think about something else, anything else, because if you linger on those negative thoughts they grow and take roots.

You need to find your own personal motivation. I think about the effort my supporters have made and the time and money I’ve invested; I think about what my coach would say if I gave up; I think about proving the people wrong who said I couldn’t do it, or the kids I work with who are so excited about me succeeding.

What advice can you offer triathletes and other people involved in extreme events?

A big motivator for me is to reflect on how privileged I am to have my health and fitness, and to have the time and opportunity to do things I love. Some mornings I train at Heron Lake. While I watch the sun coming up I can also see the lines of slow moving traffic on the M4, and I’m just so grateful I’m not in that jam.

Triathlon and other sports often take you to beautiful locations. Take a moment to enjoy those surroundings and treasure your freedom.

Also, remember to be civil to all the people helping you to achieve your goals, whether it’s the crew in your support boat or a volunteer race marshal. I know sometimes when you’re tired and distressed and your supporters can’t give you exactly what you want, it’s easy to be short tempered with them, but don’t do it.

Just going for a quick dip

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