ENDURANCE athlete Henry Walker did the equivalent of 800 laps of a 25-metre pool to secure fourth place at the Humdinger Swim.

Despite being beset by running injuries, Walker considered a long swim as a good way to stay motivated during his recovery period as he entered this gruelling event.

Situated on the outskirts of Reading, the aim of the challenge was to swim as many 1k laps of the lake as possible in six hours of continuous swimming.

Walker’s strategy was to visit the feed station every fourth lap and a caffeine shot at lap eight and 12.

After that, Walker suffered with aching shoulders and wrists, partially caused by a badly designed timing chip, which acted as a wrist weight once sodden.

But the Malvern Triathlon Club ace, who was one of 41 competitors, continued to complete a remarkable 20 laps in five hours 50 minutes beating his target time by 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, novice Kelly Haywood joined 61 triathletes to tackle the Birmingham City Triathlon Event in Sutton Park.

After selecting the sprint distance, Haywood finished her swim in 25.30, the technical bike section in 51.24 and the 5k run in 31.16. Her overall finish time was 1.53.48.

The experience was invigorating for Haywood who is looking for her next triathlon challenge.