Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here
Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here: A Bristol Channel Swim Tale is a 182-page book written by Alec Richardson that was released on 14 November 2018. It is based on his crossing of Bristol Channel from Penarth to Clevedon in England on 16 August 2017 in 5 hours 58 minutes 3 seconds.
Summary of Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here: A Bristol Channel Swim Tale
After 10 years of living with frequent discomfort and exhaustion from an unidentified condition, teamed with the struggles of balancing fatherhood and work alongside nagging doubts about his general place in the world, Alec Richardson found open water swimming. As a middle aged man, with three busy kids and a teaching job to fill his days, Alec returned to the sport that gave him so much pleasure as a youngster to try to re-find his sense of adventure, to give him a focus, and to give him an excuse to up his calorific intake (an extra layer helps with the cold apparently!)
While gazing across the Bristol Channel from England to Wales one morning, he started to wonder if he was capable of swimming across this scarily difficult, yet enticingly challenging stretch of water.
This is the story of how Alec planned and completed the resulting swim from Penarth to Clevedon in a respectable time and recounts tales of sunrises, seaweed caresses, mermaids and mashed boiled eggs. A first-hand account of what goes into a journey like this, full of self-reflection and off-beat ponderings which are sure to strike a chord with anyone toiling through their own mid-life adventure, but also full of helpful tips and advice for anyone planning their own endeavours. Not just a book about swimming, a life affirming tale of frailty, endeavour and a man’s struggle to wear Speedos in public.
2021 WOWSA Award Nomination
Ask Me Why I'm Stood Here was nominated for the 2021 World Open Water Swimming Product or Service of the Year Award. The nominees in the 2021 World Open Water Swimming Product or Service of the Year included:
Winner: Aloo of Mexico
First Runner-up: La Morada Club of Argentina
Second Runner-up: Oceans Seven: How I Cheated Death And Broke The Hardest Record In Swimming
4. Radikal Swim Swimming Club of Spain
5. We Swim Wild of Great Britain
6. Hammer Head Swim Caps of USA
7. Safe Sea of Israel
8. Against The Current of USA
9. Ask Me Why I’m Stood Here: A Bristol Channel Swim Tale of Great Britain
10. Ocean Walker Academy & Wellbeing Centre of Great Britain
11. Bruckner Chase Ocean Positive of USA
12. Maarten van der Weijden Foundation of the Netherlands
13. Freedom Swimmer of China-Hong Kong
14. Amphibia Dry Mat of Ireland
15. The Swim Reaper of New Zealand
16. Open Water Swim Traverse of Lebanon
17. Goa Open Water Swimming Club of India
