Swimrun is an endurance sport that combines trail run sections and open water swimming sections, without transitions
It could be said that Swimrun is an epic sport, an adventure difficult to understand. Running in wetsuits and swimming with shoes, going in and out of the water for many kilometres. And it would be expected that the origin of such a sport would be just as epic, but no. It all started with a bet between friends that arose from a heated discussion, while they were drinking in a remote bar in Sweden.
The origin of the swimrun
In 2002, Anders Malm, one of the owners of the Utö Värdshus (the hotel at the finish line of ÖTILLÖ, the already famous Swimrun World Championships), his friend Janne Lindberg and two of their employees (the Andersson brothers) raised a bet: “The last team to reach Sandhamn pays for hotel, dinner and drinks.” This meant a distance of about 30 kilometers, crossing through various islands, that is, with the sea in between. This was not an impediment, and the next morning two teams of two started with a single rule: they had to go through the three restaurants on the islands between the start and the finish line. The last team to arrive at each restaurant had to drink and pay what the team in front had ordered for them. This first adventure took them more than 24 hours.
After testing it a few more times, in 2006 they decided to create a real race, based on their adventure. They called her ÖTILLÖ (from island to island in Swedish). The first two years only 11 teams started and only two managed to finish within the time limits. Today the race is internationally recognized as the Swimrun World Championship, and has even been described by CNN as one of the toughest races in the world, with participants from 50 nationalities.
the rules of sport
Swimrun is actually a team sport. Two participants who must go together throughout the entire course, and always within 10 meters of each other. Runners alternate between running and swimming along a pre-marked course; It can be between islands, between lakes, or coasting while going in and out of the sea. The rules dictate that, as a team, the participants must start and end with the same material: neoprene, shoes, paddles, pull buoy, hat, glasses…
The Swimrun in Spain
In our country, the Swimrun arrived in 2015 thanks to MARNATON with the Swimrun eDreams Cap de Creus by HEAD which this year reaches its eighth edition. The test, which is held on October 21 in Cadaqués, offers three routes. The Half, which connects Rosas and Cadaqués with a 17 km run and a 4.5 km swim, the Sprint, with a 8.5 km run and a 2.5 km swim, and the Experience with a 5 km run and 1, 5 km of swimming that runs within Cadaqués itself.