The third event of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2016 will for the third consecutive year take place on 10 July throughout the Engadin Valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps. The sold out event has 200 teams of two registered to ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin.
The event is positioned as ‘a great variation to the two previous races in the world series, at Utö in the Stockholm archipelago and at the Isles of Scilly off the coast of England.’ The Engadin race takes place on mountain trails and in glacial alpine lakes. The course is long and tough with a total of 53 km of trail running and lake swimming, with a total vertical gain of 1,450 metres.
The highest swim is at 2,600 metres. As the organising team adds, ‘It is quite a sight to see athletes running in wetsuits on the beautiful alpine trails high up the mountains!’
For the third edition of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, a maximum number of 200 teams of two will take on the challenging course in an Alpine setting. The race is held on alpine trails, between and through beautiful yet glacial cold mountain lakes, and passing the famous alpine village St Moritz, as well as the picturesque mountain towns of Maloja, Sils and Champfer, to finally finish in Silvaplana.
The total distance of the race course is 53 km of which 46.5 km is trail running (in a wetsuit) and 6.5 km is open-water swimming through seven mountain lakes for eight different swims (in running shoes).
The course is further spiced up with 1,450 meters of vertical climbing. ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin is seen as a good alpine equivalent and a difficult qualifier to the World Championship of Swimrun, ÖTILLÖ, the original swimrun race in the Stockholm archipelago, considered one of the toughest one-day races in the world.
Teams representing 17 nations will battle it out to the finish line in Silvaplana, Switzerland, as the eight top placed teams qualify for a spot at ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship on 5 September in Sweden.
Competitors are travelling to Engadin from all over Europe as well as from the USA, Armenia, Uruguay and Russia.
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin organising team add that… ‘most importantly, the almost 400 competitors, as well as the 30 competitors for the 13.5 km sprint race on Saturday 9 July, are taking part to experience the fantastic spirit of swimrun racing; team spirit, preserving nature and spending a great time outdoors during a very tough course.’
