No less than 250 teams of two are taking on this year’s edition of Utö Swimrun on 31 May, a qualifier to the ÖTILLÖ World Championship of Swimrun. Utö Swimrun consists of the ‘half distance’ 31K of trail running alternated with 5.5K of open water swimming around the island of Utö in the Stockholm archipelago.
19 nationalities are signed up for the May race and there will be a good fight to earn one of the much-desired qualifying spots for the ÖTILLÖ World Championship, on 7 September.
Swimrun is a fast growing sport where athletes are in teams of two – and alternate trail running and open water swimming. There is no time to lose – each competitor runs in their wetsuit and swims in their shoes! In all swimrun races participants race in teams of two, for security/safety reasons, and also to maintain the unique spirit of racing with a team mate.
Utö Swimrun is half the distance of the gruelling ÖTILLÖ but it is still a hard fought challenge in the cold spring water of the Baltic Sea. To succeed, athletes also need to be fast between the transitions of running and swimming.
Eight top teams qualify for ÖTILLÖ; top 3 men, top 3 mixed gender, top 2 women.
The ÖTILLÖ World Championship is ranked by CNN as one of the toughest endurance races in the world. It is the original swimrun competition with a total of 75K. Teams of two run 65K on 26 islands and swim 10K between them in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden each September. 120 teams from 22 nationalities will be on the start line this year. 350 teams are on the waiting list.
www.utoswimrun.se
www.otilloswimrun.se
www.engadinswimrun.ch
