Every year on the last Saturday in February sees nearly 3,000 swimmers attempt to cross the 19.7km stretch of water between Cottesloe Beach and Thomson's Bay. You can do it solo, with a mate (typically swapping every 5-10 minutes or so), or with three friends (like a relay, typically swapping every 30 seconds to 5 minutes or so).

As Ross discusses right at the start of the show, Paul was Ross's key referee for landing his role with FINIS, a position in which Ross has been in for over 8 years now. Ross's passion and enthusiasm for swimming really shone through when Paul first met Ross at the Loughborough University in 2013, shortly after Ross had retired from competitive swimming.

Red Mist Endurance sessions are very simple. They often feature no warm-up (to simulate an event start), use little or no equipment, and feature no technical drills. The emphasis is always more about pacing, challenging yourself and seeing if you can keep a level head!

Today marks my 20th anniversary of living here in Perth - I can't believe it! I've met some wonderful people from the swimming community and beyond in this time and have had the opportunity to coach many thousands of swimmers over this period (likely to the tune of 300,000 squad visits in that time and close to 10,000 individual 1-2-1 sessions!). Many of the original crew I started coaching over two decades ago still swim with us to this day.

You’re a triathlete, though, or a longer-distance open water swimmer, and the set above, while perfectly fine as a pool swimmer’s set, isn’t specific to your needs as an athlete. The shortest triathlon swim leg is still a “distance” event, in swimming terms, and your preparation should mirror the demands of the event.