#205: From Cardiac Arrest to Loch Ness with Nick Parkes & Rebecca Lennon

Nick Parkes shares the remarkable story of his return to swimming after suffering a cardiac arrest at the National Open Water Championships in 2023. Clinically dead for around 20 minutes, Nick has since dedicated a series of fundraising challenges to the air ambulance service that helped save his life.

Now he has taken on his biggest challenge yet: swimming the full 22.5 miles of Loch Ness.

Nick completed the epic swim in the dark, cold waters of the loch with fellow Masters swimmer and doctor Rebecca Lennon providing medical support… Rebecca having recently set a world record for swimming across the Bristol Channel.

Nick and Rebecca talk about the physical and mental demands of a swim of this scale, the medical considerations of spending hours in cold water, the importance of teamwork and support, and what it takes to keep going when things get tough.

We hear about Rebecca’s own attempt to swim Loch Ness, which was abandoned because of poor weather and her world record-breaking swim, and, of course, the question everyone wants answered…

Did they see the Loch Ness Monster?

If you’d like to support Nick’s fundraising, visit nickparkes.co.uk.

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