When you think of new, innovative ways to challenge yourself, what comes to mind? If you’re like us at Swim.com, you think of things you’ve never done before. Sometimes that means doing things no one has ever done before – like when we transformed the Apple Watch into the most reliable open water tracker on the market.
We decided to team up with the World Open Water Swimming Association and FINIS to deliver our toughest challenge yet – the 100km October Distance Challenge. It’s as straight-forward as challenges come – log 100,000m of pool or open water swimming. But, don’t worry, you have the whole month of October to do it!
Tap the below links on your mobile device to automatically launch the challenges.
| 🌍 10k Distance Challenge | Challenge Link |
| 🌍 100k Distance Challenge | Challenge Link |
If the sheer pride of completing this daunting challenge isn’t enough to motivate you, let the rewards speak for themselves!
For all users who join the challenge, you’ll receive 20-25% off site-wide at SwimOutlet.com and an automatic entry to a raffle to win 1 of 3 Swim.com Prize Packs!
For the top male and female distance-goers, FINIS is providing a sweet package deal of FREE gear including the new Amnis Underwater MP3 Player!
More rewards and discounts will be raffled off throughout the whole month of October!
Join the challenge today and get started on your way to 100k!
I’ve been bettering my discipline to swim regularly lately. This will solidify my drive even more!
Hi Jeff! This is great to hear!! Be sure to share your success with us on social media!
When is one of these events going to be launched that doesn’t exclude the aging, visually impaired segment of the swimming society who can’t see their Garmin well enough to start or stop it? Or, stop making the assumption that everyone uses a smart phone that apps work with? Excludes a large segment of potential participants.
Hi Jim – We hear your frustration. Are you having a specific issue in regards to challenges or any other Swim.com feature? If so, please reach out to us at support@swim.com and we can further assist you. Thanks!
Hi i tried to register for the 10k but was directed to the 100k. How do I register?
Hi Arlette! Thanks for participating in our Distance Challenges! The blog has since been updated, you should be able to see the direct link to the 10k Challenge.
If you have any other issues, feel free to reach out to us on social media or at support@swim.com.
Thanks!
I just tried to register for the 10k and was directed to 100k. I closed the link and tried again. Didn’t work.
So – without a smarty pants watch – it looks like I can’t enter – is there a way of doing that? I just log everything manually on strava. To be honest, I think it’s more accurate. My pool training mates often have completely different totals. And their watches often take out rest time – which makes them look super fast, where as i just record time in the water. And in open water, I swim to landmarks and google maps the distance and have a reasonable idea of start and finish time to log – whereas my buddies with watches seem to have ridiculously inaccurate data from their devices – some overestimating swims buy at least 50%.
Anyway, would love to join the challenge. Let me know if it’s possible to do so without a watch.
Hi Julie! Thanks for reaching out and supporting Swim.com! You can absolutely participate in the challenge without a watch. You can manually upload each swim session from the mobile app. Here’s a support article on how to manually upload a swim to a challenge.
https://support.swim.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045945971-Challenges
That link doesn’t seem to work. I joined challenge today, 7th Oct. but wondering how do I put in swim workouts done since 1st Oct (recorded on my watch).
Billy H
I always count my laps and do not use a smartwatch in a pool or in the ocean. Counting and keeping track in the pool is easy because I do simple sets like 10×100 freestyle. Keeping track of my distance is easy when I keep things simple in the pool. I always keep things simple in the ocean by swimming in familiar areas (e.g., between lifeguard stations or around piers).
awesome!
Hi – I use my garmin vivoactive watch. Is there any way I can connect my swims logged on there to this challenge? Thanks
Yes – As long as you join the challenge, your swims will be counted.
I swim in a short course pool. Can I still participate? In other words will the app recalculate my distance from yards to meters? And if yes, how long does it take for the calculation to post?
FYI Your challenge links are backwards. The 10k link opens the 100k challenge and the 100k link opens the 10k challenge
I signed up for the 10k challenge. I have been swimming each day in the ocean since. My page shows 36 swims, but it’s only the 10th. Is it using swims from previous months? I thought it was only for October. I am using Safari web browser as I am using a dumb phone (aka. not smart.)
how do i enter the challenge if i don’t have a smartwatch or smartphone (hence, no access to the “app”) … i’m still a website kind of guy.
Hi Pete! Today, challenges are only available to mobile users.
Hi – I’m enjoying the 100km challenge but it looks like it didn’t include my swims on Oct 1st & 2nd. Is that because I didn’t sign up right away and it didn’t count days before I signed up?
Hi Gary! Only swims from the day of, or days thereafter, are counted. However, you can manually upload those swims from 10/1 & 10/2 via the swimmer icon in the top left-hand corner of the challenge home page within the app.
I just received an email on the news and really excited about this. Does those historical swim counts towards the challenge? I’ve clocked in enough swims distance on October to join the draw.
Yes they do! Feel free to manually upload all swims from Oct. on the mobile app!
I signed up late and got in the 100KM from oct 1-30. I asked why they didn’t show up in the challenge and they said it was because they were time stamped swims after i signed up and to just manually change the date (as long as performed in October to the date after i signed up. I did this and still not showing in the challenge and the badge. Any help is much appreciated.
Hi Jim! Thanks for reaching out and supporting Swim.com. Are your privacy settings set to public? You can access your privacy settings by tapping Settings > Privacy, then ensure you’re enabling participation in global leaderboards. Please let us know if this resolves the issue.
I have a problem with app.
In the Feed tab all the October records appear.
In the Progress tab does not appear on October 11, October 14 and October 24.
I do not understand.
thanks in advance
Hi Gonzalo! Thanks for reaching out! Do you have the current dates selected in your feed? Ensure you’re viewing the correct time period of your feed. Let us know if this helps!
Hi I managed to sign up at the beginning of the challenge although I wanted to sign up for the 10k, the link for the 10k only took me to the 100k so I registered and actually managed to enter some yards. However, I have a tremendous amount of problems login in with issues like my passwords not being recognized and when I try to reset it..none of the reset emails seem to work bc I am either told that the time expired or that I don’t have an account, etc. Sometimes I do all the steps to reset the passwords 5 times with no luck. Your support will be greatly appreciated and I look forward to your reply.
Hi, for some reason the challenge only shows pool or open water. When i filter by both in the app for October i get my 100km to show (63 miles) But on the challenge it selecting just pool. I wonder if anyone else had the same issue?
This was a ton of fun!