Luke Belfield, and Marathon Swimming with Childhood Arthritis

Luke Belfield is a force, undertaking feats of running and swimming which would tax any mortal. As someone who developed arthritis in childhood, with some remissionand then resumption in early adult life, he could have accepted the ruling of the ancient Greek three sisters of fate. But he didn’t. Very successfully, he has been weaving his own destiny with the thread that he has been given, by, in his own words, considering his body as an instrument and not an ornament. In this podcast, we talk about his athletic journey, from running the Athens marathon and ironman, to marathon swimming. He swam the Bosporus in 2024, and at thetime of recording, is preparing to swim the English Channel solo. Preparation, intelligence, reflection and awareness are central to his toolkit, both in his athletics and in raising awareness about childhood arthritis and empowering youngpeople with this condition.