On 24 August, Chrissie will join more than 2,400 competitors from across the globe, swimming 6.5 kilometres from Asia to Europe, battling strong currents to cross one of the world's busiest shipping lanes as part of the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim.
It’s the latest in a long track record of crossing continents covering many miles of open water that Chrissie has been swimming since 2005; including ten years of Olympic distance triathlon training, a 40km swim across the English Channel in 2007, swimming with Orcas across 20km of the Gibraltar Straight in 2013, swimming from the UK to USA from the British to US Virgin Islands in 2014, and being the first woman in her age group to complete the swim in the Alcatraz duathlon in 2014.
This latest challenge brings to an end Chrissie’s crossing continents swim series of UK – Europe, Europe to Africa, UK – USA and Europe to Asia. It is doubly significant because it is in memory of Chrissie’s lifelong friend, Kirsty Widdowson, whose resilience, humour and courage inspired Chrissie to raise money for the Marfan Trust, a charity that supports families affected by Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition that affects the body's connective tissue and which affected Kirsty’s life until she died earlier this August.
“Kirsty lived a wonderful life and wasn’t at all defined by Marfans,” says Chrissie. “I’m doing this in her memory with her family’s blessing. The fact she would have said I was crazy makes me want to do it even more!”
Chrissie is accustomed to balancing the challenges in her training with her academic commitments and in fact believes that the two are not only complementary, but essential to her success in both.
“It is hard to fit it all in but I know that it makes me happier,” says Chrissie, who wakes at 5am most mornings to either go trail running, outdoor swimming or to strength train before her work day begins. “Being outdoors is important to me, as is channelling the energy I have in a way that means I can do whatever I need to do. I have a really supportive husband and labradors – who swim and run with me – and I often train with friends, which not only makes it more enjoyable, it means I stick to my training plan.
“In my job, I find it helpful that I feel very fit and strong. It goes hand in hand with the demands of the job. I tell my students the same thing; it’s important to get your head into a different space – you don’t have to climb a mountain or run a marathon; it can be knitting or any other activity, you simply need to do something that makes you happy.”
At the time of writing, Chrissie had raised almost £3,000 for the Marfan Trust, which as well as supporting patients and families, funds research into the condition.
“I’ve previously fund-raised for cancer charities and various children’s charities,” adds Chrissie. “I wanted to do this in memory of Kirsty who was the most amazing, warm, funny and generous woman who I’d known since we were born three weeks apart. She encountered significant health problems through her life, but she was incredibly strong and resilient when navigating these. I saw her shortly before she died and knowing medically what I do, I knew it might be the last time we were together, she still managed to laugh at my terrible jokes. She never held herself back.”
“I was always going to fundraise when I planned to do this swim, but I hadn’t decided which charity to do this for. When Kirsty died it became really obvious. I remember how the Marfan Trust supported Kirsty’s family when she was young, and with my medical background, knowing that they support research into Marfan syndrome, it became even clearer why this matters so much.”
Chrissie already has her sights set on her next challenge, simultaneously preparing to train in Pilot Gig rowing once this swim – and another in the Arctic afterwards – is complete (all the while keeping her other commitment as front woman on the electric ukulele in her band, Otter Chaos): “I really do believe it’s absolutely essential to prioritise your health and happiness, especially as we age.”