A trough challenge, but mum Justine’s very chilled about it...
SEVEN DAILY DIPS IN A FREEZING TUB TO RAISE CASH FOR AIR 999
NORMALLY the preserve of elite rugby players, footballers and other top athletes, the prospect of climbing into a bathtub, wheelie-bin or other large receptacle full of ice would fill most ordinary people with utter dread.
Just the thought of plunging your bare bones into the icy water would be enough to have most of us running for the nearest fan heater.
But not one hardy woman living on a farm outside Melton, who has set herself the chilly challenge – in January no less – of taking an ice bath once a day for a full week.
Factor in the open air, where the wind chill will take the temperature down at least a notch or two, and add in that her chosen receptacle is a sheep trough many hundreds of yards away from the nearest heat source and you’d rightly conclude Justine Sore is made of sterner stuff.
With no more protection than a swimming costume and cap, the 48-year-old is currently six days into a seven-day challenge to sink herself into the ice every morning to help raise money for the Derbyshire Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance.
“I started on Friday and aim to finish on Thursday (January 14),” said Justine, a trained solicitor who now runs Hill Top Farm, off Nottingham Road, alongside partner Martin Brown and son Charles, 12.
“I have to confess, I love open water – or cold water – swimming. I’m originally from Cornwall and grew up by the sea, so it’s in my blood I guess.
“But where I usually swim – the Race Hub open water swimming lake, at Six Hills – is currently closed due to the lockdown, so I figured I had to get my fix somewhere.
“It got me to thinking what I could do instead and how could I make it worthwhile by trying to help a good cause that helps lots of people.”
Wandering the grounds of the 60-acre farm, where she tends to cattle, sheep, horses, goats, donkeys and a pony, she found her answer.
“We’ve got seven troughs dotted around the farm that are all frozen over with ice as we’ve got the cattle indoors – and it came to me,” she said.
And “Justine’s Frozen Challenge... Dipping in 7 animal water troughs in 7 days” was born. “I thought to myself ‘come on, you can do this!’”, she added. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Justine has an able assistant in the form of her son Charles, who stepped up to the plate as chief icebreaker.
Describing the experience of cold water immersion, Justine said: “I have done a bit of preparation and started taking cold showers a week before I started.
“I’ve got myself into a bit of a routine.
“Charles and I have a walk the evening before and select a trough. We then check the temperature and leave the thermometer in overnight.
“Then, in the morning, I put on my bathing suit and swimming cap and head out.
“The first day I went in the thermometer reading was 0.4C. Charles, to his credit, spent about half-anhour smashing the surface ice of the trough with a hammer – it was over two inches thick! I can’t lie, when you slide into the icy water it does hurt but once you are in it produces a strange effect.
“You can’t just plunge into the water, it would be dangerous, you have to prepare yourself for the shock.
“It normally involves breathing and visualisation techniques and, once you are in, you have to concentrate.”
Justine, rather bizarrely, thinks she may even be addicted to her newfound routine.
She said: “Because you have to focus so much, everything else leaves your mind. It’s like a kind of meditation.
“I normally stay in there for about five to 10 minutes if I can – it’s actually the getting out into the cold air that is the hardest thing.
“But afterwards, you get such a rush of endorphins that you feel on cloud nine. There are also numerous other health benefits of cold water immersion, too.
“I know people will think I’m mad but I think I’m actually getting addicted to it – it’s almost like a drug.
“Strange as it may sound I now start looking forward to my morning plunge the night before. I know it sounds crazy.”
Justine went for the air ambulance, based at East Midlands Airport, as her chosen charity.
“I like riding horses and am always very conscious of having an accident,” she said. “The same actually goes for when I’m out in my car.
“It’s an organisation which I have huge respect for and I read somewhere that, like many other charities, their income from donations has dwindled since the pandemic started.
“That’s why I chose the air ambulance.”
Justine has already smashed her fund-raising target but is ploughing on to try and raise as much cash for the cause as possible.
“I set up a Just Giving page online and initially wanted to raise £100,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when I checked this morning and, just days in, we’d raised almost £650!
“It’s incredible and I’d like to sincerely thank everyone for their support, it’s been overwhelming.”
To support Justine’s challenge and the air ambulance you can make a donation by searching for Justine’s name at: