\u201cPrioritise making time for what makes you happy,\u201d says Professor Chrissie Thirlwell, who as well as being a Medical Oncologist and Head of the University of Bristol Medical School, is about to embark on the latest in a 20-year journey across the world\u2019s seas as she raises money for a charity close to her heart.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
This latest challenge brings to an end Chrissie\u2019s crossing continents swim series of UK \u2013 Europe, Europe to Africa, UK \u2013 USA and Europe to Asia. It is doubly significant because it is in memory of Chrissie\u2019s 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\u2019s life until she died earlier this August.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsty lived a wonderful life and wasn\u2019t at all defined by Marfans,\u201d says Chrissie. \u201cI\u2019m doing this in her memory with her family\u2019s blessing. The fact she would have said I was crazy makes me want to do it even more!\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is hard to fit it all in but I know that it makes me happier,\u201d says Chrissie, who wakes at 5am most mornings to either go trail running, outdoor swimming or to strength train before her work day begins. \u201cBeing 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 \u2013 who swim and run with me \u2013 and I often train with friends, which not only makes it more enjoyable, it means I stick to my training plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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\u2019s important to get your head into a different space \u2013 you don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of writing, Chrissie had raised almost \u00a33,000 for the Marfan Trust, which as well as supporting patients and families, funds research into the condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve previously fund-raised for cancer charities and various children\u2019s charities,\u201d adds Chrissie. \u201cI wanted to do this in memory of Kirsty who was the most amazing, warm, funny and generous woman who I\u2019d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always going to fundraise when I planned to do this swim, but I hadn\u2019t decided which charity to do this for. When Kirsty died it became really obvious. I remember how the Marfan Trust supported Kirsty\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chrissie already has her sights set on her next challenge, simultaneously preparing to train in Pilot Gig rowing once this swim \u2013 and another in the Arctic afterwards \u2013 is complete (all the while keeping her other commitment as front woman on the electric ukulele in her band, Otter Chaos): \u201cI really do believe it\u2019s absolutely essential to prioritise your health and happiness, especially as we age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further information<\/p>\n