Dakar - Goree Race Day!

Lying just 5km off the coast of Dakar, Ile Goree is clearly visible from the city and every year there is a swimming race, starting from a Dakar beach and ending at the port in Goree. Along with a group of friends I've been in training for the last few weeks and on Sunday the day of the big race arrived.


Unfortunately for a couple of days before the race I’d had an upset stomach and was wondering whether I’d be able to do the swim, but come Sunday morning I decided I was well enough to give it a go. So first it was off to Sacha’s house (he’s the one on the right, with the beard) where the whole team had a hearty breakfast to help give us much needed energy.

Then to Monaco beach, near Dakar port, for the start of the race. The beach was crowded with swimmers, supporters and local dignitaries. After registering and much waiting around it was finally time for the off. The plan was for some of us to try and swim together, but there was such a large crowd of swimmers that we pretty quickly found ourselves separated and so it was just a matter of each of us going for it and heading for Goree. Pretty soon the crowd thinned out as the swimmers spread out across the sea and then it was a matter of just trying to keep swimming in a straight line, which is more difficult than it sounds when you’ve got your head down and no reference points, so I had to stop every now and then to make sure I was still heading in the right direction. As time went on the island, which started off in the hazy distance (you can see the isalnd behind us in the picture above) started to come into sharper relief and I realised I wasn’t too far from the finish – so time to put on a final spurt. The end of the race is on the beach by the harbour, and as we came into harbour you could hear the cries of supporters on the harbour side urging us on, and finally there it was, the finishing line. Crossing the line I was handed a tag giving my position in the race (181st, out of around 450 swimmers), and I checked my time, 1hr 50mins – I had thought it would take over 2 hours, so very pleased.


The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the remaining swimmers coming in and then waiting for the medal ceremony. One of our team, Ramona, was the fastest female, so she was presented with an impressive trophy – see pic.

Then back to Dakar by ferry, and Sacha’s apartment to pick up our belongings – and to scoff whatever was left in his fridge (sorry Sacha), and then home. A truly memorable day.