Where extraordinary people share their stories.

Kerianne Brownlie is a nurse, a marathon swimmer, and one of the newest people to swim the Cook Strait. We talk about how she trained for open water swims using pools near her home, how the swimming community shaped her journey, and the role her partner played in supporting her goals. We also explore the powerful connection between her nursing work and the mental resilience needed for endurance swims. She’s living proof that you don’t have to choose between a meaningful job and an epic life.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Corrina Connor, we pick up after her first attempt to swim the Cook Strait. She opens up about what came next, what it took mentally, emotionally, and physically to return to the water after falling short. We talk about resilience, pacing, mindset, and what it really means to try again on your own terms. This is a story about endurance, but not just in the ocean.

In this episode of Swimming the Strait, I talk with Corrina Connor, marathon swimmer, librarian, and cellist, about her first attempt to swim the Cook Strait. This is the first of a two-part conversation where we explore what it means to show up for something big, face the unexpected, and keep moving forward.

What does it take to push past your limits and take on the world’s toughest open-water swims? In this episode of Swimming the Strait, I sit down with Caitlin O’Reilly, who, at the time of our conversation, was on her journey to completing the Ocean’s Seven, one of the most grueling endurance challenges in open-water swimming. Since then, she has made history as the youngest person ever to complete it.

Joining us is Rebecca Hollingsworth, an ultra marathon swimmer whose impressive resume includes some of the most challenging swims in the world.