Race Shape › Swimming › Durban
Swimming · KwaZulu-NatalSwimming training plans in Durban
Durban is essentially at sea level, in KwaZulu-Natal. For swimmers altitude matters far less than it does on land — the pool paces a plan sets come from your own Critical Swim Speed test, done where you train. What does change with place is the season, the water temperature and whether open-water practice is realistic.
Build my Durban swimming plan — freeTell it where you train and it corrects for the altitude automatically.
| Altitude | 8 m |
|---|---|
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
Pool paces
| Critical Swim Speed | 1:59 per 100 m |
|---|---|
| Recovery | 2:09/100 m — Easy enough to think about your stroke rather than your lungs. |
| Endurance | 2:04/100 m — Steady. You could keep going for a long time. |
| CSS | 1:59/100 m — Threshold. Hard but repeatable across a whole set. |
| VO₂max | 1:56/100 m — Faster than threshold, in short reps with real rest. |
| Speed | 1:53/100 m — Short and quick. Technique first, effort second. |
From a 400 m in 7:30 and a 200 m in 3:32, using the two-trial protocol (Wakayoshi et al., 1992). Your own CSS comes from your own two swims.
Training through the year in Durban
Humid subtropical: hot, humid summers with rain, and mild, drier winters.
Summer humidity slows everyone, so effort and heart rate are the honest guides from November to March. Winter is when the coast trains best — which, not by coincidence, is Comrades season.
Common questions
When is the best time of year to train in Durban?
Summer humidity slows everyone, so effort and heart rate are the honest guides from November to March. Winter is when the coast trains best — which, not by coincidence, is Comrades season.
Which races near Durban can I build a plan for?
aQuellé Midmar Mile — each is built in, with the date, distance and altitude already filled in.
Where do my paces come from?
From two timed swims, 400 m and 200 m, which set your Critical Swim Speed.
Races within reach of Durban
Swimming plans elsewhere in South Africa
- Johannesburg — 1 753 m
- Cape Town — 25 m