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Event programsSwimming

5 km Open-Water Swim: 12 weeks, peaks at ~6 h.

5 km in open water — an aerobic-capacity and pacing event, where losing technique late in the race is the usual failure. That's the intermediate plan; beginner runs 14, advanced runs 10 weeks.

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Written for where you are.

Beginner
14 weeks, 3–4 swims a week: the long swim from 1.5 to 4.5 km, first open water in week 6, feeds practised from week 9.Shortest runway 11 weeks · research minimum 12 · 5 sources
14 wk
1.5-4.5 h a week
Intermediate
12 weeks, 4–5 swims a week: Red Mist from the build, a 5 km dress rehearsal in week 7, broken 3000 at race pace in the peak.Shortest runway 8 weeks · research minimum 8 · 5 sources
12 wk
3-6 h a week
Advanced
10 weeks, 6 swims a week: CSS plus Red Mist, VO2 or USRPT, long open-water swims of 5–6 km.Shortest runway 6 weeks · research minimum 6 · 5 sources
10 wk
3.5-7.5 h a week

The checklist comes with it.

T-28Men over 40, or anyone with heart risk factors: get a pre-participation check. Two-thirds of US triathlon race deaths happened in the swim, mostly men over 40, often with hidden heart disease (Harris 2017).
T-7Water temperature and the wetsuit rule: World Aquatics races need ≥ 16 °C and make wetsuits compulsory below 18 °C. Cold shock is ~1 min of gasping, then swim failure within ~10 min — enter slowly and control your breathing.
T-7Goggles: one clear and one tinted pair, plus a spare. Anti-chafe.
T-3Course map: sighting landmarks and buoy colours. Start format (seeded, rolling or mass) — self-seed honestly. Know the exit and the safety craft.
race morningWarm-up swim of 10 min with 4×1 min at race pace, then a seeded or rolling start.
race morningCough, frothy or bloody sputum, or breathlessness in the water (SIPE): stop, signal the safety craft, exit and get medical care. Never swim open water alone.
T-7The feed plan and the pontoon or kayak arrangement; cap colour for your support crew.
T-7Test-drink the race product. Sunscreen; nipple and neck anti-chafe.

Every plan cites its homework.

Feeding in swims under about 2 h has little direct evidence: 60 g/h during a 10 km training set did not change elite swimmers' 500 m splits (PMC6316724). Finish-time bands are dossier estimates. Sodium (300–600 mg/h) is the general endurance starting point, not a swim-specific finding.

  1. 1Helios research dossier — swimming (§2 open-water events)
  2. 2Pacing of 5, 10 and 25 km swimmers at the 2017 World Championships (PMC6437078)
  3. 3Shaw et al. 2014 — nutrition for open-water swimming (IJSNEM)
  4. 4Jeukendrup 2014 — carbohydrate intake during exercise (PMC4008807)
  5. 5Carbohydrate during a 10 km training swim in elite swimmers (PMC6316724)
  6. 6Bosquet et al. 2007 — taper meta-analysis (PubMed 17762369)
  7. 7Harris et al. 2017 — deaths in US triathlons (Ann Intern Med)
  8. 8Knechtle 2026 — swimming-induced pulmonary oedema review (PMC13424964)
  9. 9World Aquatics 2026 — research reinforces the 16 °C open-water threshold

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