Jennie Hipkin
Location: Essex
Age 46

I’m Jennie and I’m lucky enough to live really close to the sea and the famous Walton on the Naze backwaters – a Site of Special Scientific Interest and favourite of the author Arthur Ransome. Whilst I loved swimming in lakes, rivers and outdoor pools as a child and teenager, it’s a joy I lost somewhere along the way and oddly, it hadn’t occurred to me to properly swim in the sea until a friend made it one of her new year’s resolutions to do so regularly in 2020. We all know how 2020 panned out, but I was very fortunate to be able to continue to swim – dipping at first and then getting braver, stronger and more confident. I’ve swum at sunrise, sunset and have even seen some seals pop up to say ‘hello’! I’ve made some great friends through outdoor swimming and have found it to be a wonderfully inclusive and non-competitive activity. Like many women, family and work has taken up a lot of my time and it’s been easy for me to put myself last. I’m taking up the Henley Mile challenge to show my children and other women like me, that it’s important to keep trying new things, setting yourself goals and to make time for something you really enjoy. At the moment I’m feeling overwhelmed, but resilience comes from overcoming obstacles and come July, I know I’ll be proud to look back and see how far I’ve come.