{"id":7813,"date":"2021-03-15T01:06:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T01:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=7813"},"modified":"2021-03-15T01:06:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T01:06:46","slug":"otillo-final-15-taking-on-the-newest-swimrun-sprint-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=7813","title":{"rendered":"\u00d6till\u00d6 Final 15: taking on the newest swimrun sprint race"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say no two races are the same, but in the case of the \u00d6till\u00d6 swimrun series, this seems to be especially true. The thing is, with swimrun there are so many variables. The course route, the terrain, the water conditions \u2013 added to which you race with a partner \u2013 all these things make each race feel like completely individual.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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So, heading to the start of the inaugural \u00d6till\u00d6 Final 15 race in Stockholm on 3rd September I\u2019m facing a series of emotions. Having already raced the new \u00d6till\u00d6 Swimrun Isles of Scilly earlier in the year (report here), people seem to have me down as some kind of swimrun veteran. But if I\u2019m being completely honest, the day we\u2019re facing in the Stockholm archipelago has me more than a little spooked\u2026<\/p>\n

So what is it? Well, in essence the Final 15 is exactly as it sounds. Forming part of the new \u00d6till\u00d6 Sprint race series, it offers a shorter version of an existing \u2018full\u2019 race. Only in this case, the full race in question is the mythical \u00d6till\u00d6 world championship final, renowned for being one of the world\u2019s toughest endurance races, in which athletes traverse 75km of brutal trails, slippery rocks and current-strewn swims in the freezing Baltic.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most beautiful parts of the course,\u201d says founder Michael Lemmel during the race briefing on the ferry to the start line, \u201cbut our racers are a bit foggy by the time they reach it\u2026. So this is a new way to experience the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear what we\u2019re talking about here, though. The race is called the \u2018Final 15\u2019 when in reality it\u2019s nearer 17km (and my Garmin finally reveals our race to be more like 18km!) and within that there are nine runs across often tricky, technical trails and eight swims, including strong currents at times, the longest of which is 900m.<\/p>\n

Lemmel is right though \u2013 already from the ferry we can see just how beautiful the scenery in the area is, with dense woods sitting on rocky outcrops, while the air feels clean and fresh in a way that makes you desperate to get outside and take in the environment.<\/p>\n

A Unique Experience<\/p>\n

The Final 15 \u00d6till\u00d6 Sprint also gives you a chance to experience something that very few athletes will be lucky enough to go through. The full championship race follows two days later and only 120 teams of two are lucky enough to qualify to take on the full 75km course, with another 600 (ouch) registered on the wait list. So if \u00d6till\u00d6 is on your bucket list but you can\u2019t contemplate the full distance, or never managed to qualify, this is a good alternative.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m racing with Laurent Grabet, a fellow journo from Switzerland, who I meet the night before. He\u2019s never raced swimrun before, but with plenty of trail experience and a faster swim ability than me, we decide to go for it and try racing tethered with belts and ropes, with hand paddes for Laurent in the swim.<\/p>\n

Many of the water exits were straight on to slippery, steep rocks. Image: Jakob Edholm<\/em><\/p>\n

The first run is only 1400m, so we\u2019re soon arriving at the first \u2013 and longest \u2013 swim. I\u2019d been nervous about water temperatures after really struggling in the Scilly race, but in fact either a summer of hanging around in lakes trying to toughen up has worked or things are much warmer here, as the water feels comfortable to swim in.<\/p>\n

Laurent and I soon get into a rhythm and we\u2019re keeping up well with the field. I get the odd paddle in the face but I\u2019m loving the beautiful surroundings \u2013 and bizarrely, am enjoying spotting the many jellyfish swimming beneath me. Not everyone reported liking them so much!<\/p>\n

Swim done and we\u2019re into the longest of the runs, at 7400m. Most of this one is remarkably flat and easy-going for \u00d6till\u00d6 though, with the first 5k taking us down wide country trail roads. It starts to pelt it down with rain, but actually we don\u2019t mind as it\u2019s refreshing and means we don\u2019t have to bother \u2018cabbing down\u2019 (swimrun speak for peeling off the top of the wetsuit to avoid overheating).<\/p>\n

Technical Terrain<\/p>\n

From here on though, the terrain soon starts to become more technical. I\u2019m more used to flat runs and am also conscious of a recent Achilles injury that is still a little creaky. Laurent pushes the pace though and I\u2019m surprised to find I (mostly) fall into step with him \u2013 although there are a couple of moments I fall flat on my face\u2026<\/p>\n

Distances from here are much shorter between swim and run legs, so we\u2019re constantly in and out of the water. We seem to have transitions pretty nailed though \u2013 apart from one memorable swim where I forget to do up the front zip on my wetsuit and it promptly filled with water on each stroke. Not a mistake you make twice.<\/p>\n

Runs varied from technical trails to swampy undergrowth. Image: Jakob Edholm<\/em><\/p>\n

One thing I am finding tricky though is the water exits. Many are on to steep and slippery rocks and I just can\u2019t get a foothold. Swimrun is a friendly sport though and I find other swimrunners behind me only too happy to give my bum a good shove to help me out!<\/p>\n

As well as trying to keep to a decent pace, we\u2019re trying to take in the scenery as well though. There can\u2019t be anything else in the world like this race \u2013 we run through beautiful forests, along magical, almost fairytale, trails and scamper across barren rocks feeling like the last people on earth.<\/p>\n

With no cut-offs in the Sprints, there\u2019s plenty of time to enjoy them! Image: Jakob Edholm<\/em><\/p>\n

All too soon we reach the final island \u2013 Ut\u00f6 \u2013 where the course slightly alters from the world championship course to allow us to take in a final beautiful trail and a couple of short extra swims, before we head up the final hill to the finish line where race organiser Michael Lemmel is there again to greet finishers with a hug \u2013 along with a welcome finish line buffet! Our finish time? Three hours and five seconds\u2026. We joke that if I hadn\u2019t spectacularly fallen off the rocks back into the sea during one swim exit we\u2019d have come in under three!<\/p>\n

220\u2019s Editor Helen and race partner Laurent at the finish. Image: Magnus Ormestad<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubting that this is a tough race. Don\u2019t be fooled by the \u2018Sprint\u2019 name \u2013 you\u2019ll need to be in reasonable shape to attempt it and you\u2019ll meet some tricky trails and rough currents along the way. But most regular triathletes should be more than up to the challenge and it\u2019s also a fantastic way to experience the things that truly make swimrun unique. Plus having the opportunity to try out the same course as the world champs racers \u2013 but without having to get in shape for 75km \u2013 is a truly wonderful experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Race done and I\u2019m tired but by no means exhausted and I\u2019m soon wondering what it would take to manage the full distance some day. That\u2019s the other thing with the new Sprint distances. They hook you in. Enter one and prepare to be converted\u2026<\/p>\n

Find out more about the \u00d6till\u00d6 full and sprint distance race series here.<\/p>\n

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Interested in trying swimrun? Read our beginners\u2019 guide to swimrun here and our feature on swimrun gear here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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They say no two races are the same, but in the case of the \u00d6till\u00d6 swimrun series, this seems to be especially true. The thing is, with swimrun there are so many variables. The course route, the terrain, the water conditions \u2013 added to which you race with a partner \u2013 all these things make…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7813\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}