Saturday Swim Session: Ruth Astle’s Endurance Swim
Swimming, July 31, 2026
Challenge yourself with this **Ruth Astle-Inspired 5,800m Endurance Swim Workout**, designed for experienced recreational swimmers, masters swimmers and triathletes. Featuring continuous and broken 800m swims, this session develops aerobic endurance, consistent pacing and efficient freestyle technique over extended distances. It's an ideal workout for athletes preparing for long-distance triathlons, open water events or simply looking to build greater confidence and resilience in the pool.
Looking for a swim session that will truly test your endurance?
This week's Saturday Swim Session is inspired by a training session completed by professional triathlete Ruth Astle. While some details—such as the rest intervals—weren't shown in the original video, I've recreated the session as closely as possible using my coaching experience to fill in the gaps.
At 5,800 metres, this is one of the longest workouts I've shared and is aimed at experienced swimmers, age-group triathletes and masters athletes looking to build aerobic endurance, pacing and mental resilience.
The session combines:
🏊 Long continuous 800m swims
🏊 Broken 800m repetitions to reinforce technique
🏊 Progressive build swimming
🏊 Sprint efforts to develop speed before the main endurance set
🏊 Pull buoy and kick work to improve body position and efficiency
More importantly, I explain why this session works, what you should focus on, the most common mistakes to avoid, and practical coaching tips to help you get the most from every metre you swim.
If you're looking for an endurance challenge that will improve both your fitness and your confidence in the water, this is a session well worth adding to your training.
👉 Read the full article and download the complete workout here:
https://www.coachray.nz/2026/08/01/saturday-swim-session-ruth-astles-endurance-swim/