Nokia Outdoor Series - The river Thames swim, come and learn more

Thames Swim

This is a first - for swimmers, for supporters and for the Thames. A 2.25 miles (3,650m)open water swim from Cigarette Island opposite Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace to just upstream of Kingston Bridge. The route winds its way along one of the most famous stretches of the Thames. If you're a supporter, you won't miss any of it, because you can walk the whole course as 1,000 swimmers head downstream.
The Nokia Thames Swim has never been done before, and you can't normally swim in
this stretch of the Thames. It's a new challenge that's part of the Nokia Outdoor Series - events for people to get together and get fit in the UK's great outdoors.

Participate
Spectate

It’s all about the training. Be prepared.

By now you may be well into your training programme. But what’s the best technique? How much rest do you need? And have you got the right kit?

We’ll help keep your training on track.

Know what to think about in open water, find out how to stay on course without lane ropes, and make sure you’ve got the right kit. Get top tips from Olympic swimmer Keri-Anne Payne (she won a silver medal in the 10K Open Water swim in Beijing, so she knows what’s what).Get tips
Find your club

Training with other people helps you chop and change your programme (so you don’t get bored), stay motivated and push yourself, so you’re not always in your comfort zone. And you get to meet other athletes too.

Also, get outside! If you want to be ready for an open water swim, you need to train in open water. Find a good place to train outdoors, or go along to one of Human Race’s Swim Seminars where you’ll get tips on technique and the chance to practise swimming in a pack. Check out a swim seminar
Checklist

Here’s a to-do list to make sure you’re raring to go before the Nokia Thames Swim (and to help settle any last-minute nerves).:
Make sure you’ve swum the distance you’ll swim in the race (at least two miles) in your training.
Make sure you’ve practised your breathing and sighting, so you can get into a rhythm during the race.
Make sure you drink lots of water.
Make sure you’re feeling fit, healthy and well enough to complete the course.
Make sure you’ve swum in your wetsuit, hat and goggles before the race.
Make sure you’ve got a spare pair of goggles (just in case your other pair breaks).
Make sure you’ve swum in open water before. Go along to a Human Race Swim Session to practise.

Finally, make sure you pack your bag like a pro.Pack your bag like a pro
Training outdoors

The Nokia Outdoor Series celebrates activity in the UK most spectacular locations. We asked Keri-Anne Payne (Olympic open water swimmer) for her favourite places to train outdoors. Check them out!

Where to watch

There’s a path beside the whole course along the Thames, so you can walk beside the swimmers and Read more cheer on every stroke and kick.

The course starts at Cigarette Island opposite Hampton Court Palace (come early to look around if you have time). Then the race bends around the river in the middle of the race.

Find a good spot to watch your swimmer all the way around. The swim finishes upstream from Kingston Bridge.

Follow our tips and you’ll get the best view (and photos) at all three main places to watch from.Check out where to watch
How to take a photo like a pro on your Nokia

In 2004 Nokia became the world's best selling digital camera brand - and now there are over 1.9 billion camera phones in the world. So it's safe to say a lot of people will be taking photos as their friends power (or plod) round the course. Here are our tips to get the best shots...Don't just point and shoot
Feed your athlete. Feed yourself.

Athletes need to eat – and you can help. But it’s not all about them, you need to eat too. A picnic or restaurant, a sandwich or a pizza, make sure you look after yourself. But what’s the best meal?

If you want to help your athlete get ready for their race, feed them! But if you’re cooking for them the night before, don’t try anything new. Stick with something they’ve eaten (and raced on) before. This isn’t the time for champagne and oysters!

Have a look at what our experts eat.

You don’t want to go hungry either. With a bit of forward planning you don’t need to. You can roll out a picnic rug and make an afternoon of it (a blanket’s good for saving a spot on the course). Or you can head to a restaurant with the athletes after the event. But book, because you won’t be the only one to have that plan. Have a look at what our experts eat

Apps & Services

Training Apps
- Heart Rate Monitor - Check your heart rate on your mobile with this app.
  Get the app
- Diet2Go - Like a personal trainer and dietician for your phone. It comes with ten diet plans, reminders and tips.
  Get the app
- Yoga Coach - Learn yoga on your phone and get animated tips.
  Get the app
- Sports Tracker - Train better with the award-winning Sports Tracker app. Your phone becomes a full-featured GPS sports computer, keeping track of everything from calories burned while running to your average cycling speed over altitude. You get maps, time and distance calculators, step count, and even heart rate when you use a compatible HR belt.
  Get the app
Sharing Apps
- Nulaz - Find your friends or what to do near you. Find nearby restaurants, bars, Wi-Fi hotspots, movies or look up things on Wikipedia.
  Get the app
- Nokia Messaging - Use Nokia Messaging to send and receive email from personal email accounts. It works with thousands of email services so it's easy to set it up.
  Get the app
Music Playlist
- TuneWiki - Lyrics with music - See the lyrics of songs as you listen to them. It has over 2.5 million songs and lyrics in over 40 languages.
  Get the app
- Mobbler - Listen to Last.fm radio stations and scrobble the songs from your music player.
  Get the app
- Playlist DJ - Playlist DJ profiles your music collection and builds playlists for you. Make playlists to match your mood.
  Get the app
Photo Apps
- Snapfish - Upload photos from your Nokia phone to the Snapfish website and turn them into prints, photo books, cards and gifts.
  Get the app
- Scalado Photo Twister - Turn your photos black and white, sepia or add special effects. You can also add filters and effects to your viewfinder so you can see how effects will look when you take your pictures.
  Get the app