FEATURE
MILES MORE ICE
What does it take to swim an ice mile? Rowan Clarke finds out
If you’ve ever seen a swimmer at the end of their ice mile, you’ll appreciate what an incredible feat of human endurance it is. As more people not only achieve ice miles but also push its boundaries, we ask if everyone has ice mile potential. And what takes ice-milers from contemplation to completion?
THE SWIM IS JUST THE BEGINNING
“My ice mile starts when I take off my clothes and ends when the first smile comes up in recovery,” says Ram Barkai, founder of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA). “In that space, I am 100 per cent focused on my mental space, swim and nothing else.”
Ram set up the IISA in 2009 as a foundation for rules and safety upon which ice swimming could grow. Since then, he has completed 11 ice miles and the IISA has ratified 783 swims of a mile or longer in water colder than five degrees Celsius. But most significantly, our understanding of cold water has changed from how to train and feed ourselves to the risks and recovery.